


A Thief in the Night

by Applesaday



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, FTL AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Applesaday/pseuds/Applesaday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma Swan is a thief, helping the poor by stealing from the rich. But in the Enchanted Forest, it's no easy role to have, especially not in the eyes of the monarchs that rule the lands. Or even worse, in the eyes of the Evil Queen.  But after saving her life, the Queen and the Thief's relationship blossoms, despite any obstacles and hesitations. FTL AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time Flies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the inspiration from this fic [which is also the image on the cover] was made by the talented and wonderful mishka47 over on tumblr, and they generously allowed me to make a fic from this!
> 
> Here we go, a complete total AU in FTL. I have skewed most things, as you'll see further on, but I have kept some of the history intact.
> 
> As a little background to situate yourselves into what is still the same: this story takes a complete turn from the point that Regina offered Snow to give up her claim to the throne, who said yes. Up until then, mostly everything happened as in the show.

By:  [mishka47](http://mishka47.tumblr.com/post/76902903828/emma-the-princess-of-thieves-regina-the-evil)

* * *

 

Panic. That was the only thing that surrounded her as she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Stop! This isn't funny!"

She heard a bark of laughter in response. "That's only 'cause you're losing, princess!"

"When I catch you...!" The little girl let the threat hang, for how much of a menace could a 5 year-old be against a 16 year-old?

The teen turned to look back at the blonde, smirk on his face as he kept running. "Do your wooor-!"

The rest of the comment died on his lips, for the teen had ran right into the edge of a hill, and went down rolling. Thankfully he had enough sense to shield the bundle he had been carrying from the brunt of the fall.

The little girl braked at the top, and in last-minute decision, went down after the teen, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

As the blonde reached the bottom, she saw the teen slowly groan as he tried to make sure his limbs were still intact. She rushed to take the bundle into her arms, and saw that the little baby was fine, babbling happily at seeing her.

She wheeled back to stare at the boy. "You idiot!"

The teen rolled his eyes. "He's fine ain't he? Get your knots untwisted, princess."

"They are not! You need to grow a brain, Neal!"

Neal stood up, crossing his arms. "I do too have a brain, and plus I'm older than you, so that automatically makes me smarter."

The little girl stuck her tongue out in response, walking away from him.

"You're going the wrong way."

"Don't care, I'm not going with you."

Neal sighed, and resigned to follow the little girl a little ways behind. He'd otherwise be in a lot of trouble if he came back without her, and he'd rather not get kicked out of another place, and have to go world-jumping once more. He was sure she'd eventually give up and they could actually go home.

After a while, the young teen saw some markings on a passing tree. They were in a foreign language, and although Neal wasn't much of a linguist, he could hazard a guess the markings wasn't some benign message like 'home sweet home'.

He looked up at where the little girl had just been, and didn't see anyone. Well shit.

"This isn't funny, princess!" He called out, jogging towards where he'd last seen her.

His blood ran cold as he heard an ominous voice yell out "HA! Now I've got you Malkroth!"

He burst through the clearing just as the little girl let out a scream. She was crouching with her back towards her attacker, shielding the baby with her body. The man who had yelled out was clearly a warlock or wizard, and was casting a spell on his unwanted charge.

"Hey!" He grabbed a rock and pelted it to the warlock, hitting him square in the face, getting him to stop his attack with a cry of surprise.

The little girl trembled a bit before collapsing into the ground unconscious.

"Emma!"

* * *

**3 Years Later**

She heard the carriage approach beneath her, and smirked. Another day, another unwitting victim.

The hooded green-clad thief jumped from her perch on the tree right on top of the carriage, making the faintest of thumps as her leather boots collided with the hard surface. The guards riding ahead of the carriage were none the wiser, neither was the driver steering said vehicle.

Emma carefully sneaked up towards the front, and as she reached the edge, she laid down on her stomach on top of the carriage. She stretched her arm down towards the driver, pinching the right pressure point on his shoulder to render him unconscious. The driver slumped forward and she grabbed the reins before they dropped out of reach, pulling on them slowly to get the four horses to slow down. If she did it too fast the horses would make a noise, alerting the guards.

After a couple of minutes, the guards were far away enough for her to pull on the reins tighter, getting the horses to stop altogether.

Letting the reins fall, she quickly made her way to the left side of the carriage, dropping down a little ways, feet finding purchase on the indentations that decorated the carriage. She waited for a bit, forearms resting comfortably on the roof waiting for the bumbling royal to go outside to investigate why they had stopped.

It was always quite a performance to watch if they were just the right kind of victim. And this one didn't disappoint. A rotund monarch scrambled out from the right side. "Charles, why are we stopping? Charles!"

Emma resisted the urge to let out a laugh. She grabbed a rock from her pouch and aimed it just right so that it would fly into the trees and make a rustling noise beyond where the clueless monarch stood. Throwing it, she silently chortled as the man startled himself with the noise.

"Charles?!" While the king was preoccupied, Emma shimmied down lower. She set herself on opening the window on the left side of the carriage, using her trusty tools for the job. She moved them around for a bit until she heard the small click and lowered the window.

The king was still bumbling around by the time Emma reached in to find the heavy pouch of gold. Securing it on her belt, she jumped down from her spot, and quickly went back away from the path and deeper into the forest.

She found her horse just as she had left him, and dropped the pouch of gold into the saddle pocket before climbing onto him and heading home.

* * *

Their hideout was well hidden; after all, being thieves meant that they couldn't exactly settle down in the middle of a bustling town. It took the best wizards and spells to make sure the surrounding area was fortified and hid the village of thieves from prying eyes and soldiers who chased them.

She made sure the swan necklace was still around her neck as she walked towards the strange archway in the middle of the forest.

Further ahead, two trees stood on either side of the road. They were peculiarly curved towards each other, creating a wide arch above the rocky way. Wearing a magic pendant allowed the wearer to be transported into their village when they passed through the archway.

For horses, one of their horseshoes did the trick, and soon Emma found herself with a change of scenery. What had been the bleak Enchanted Forest was now vibrant Storybrooke village.

Emma had always found the peculiar name interesting, but didn't question it. She climbed down her horse, taking his reins gently and leading him towards the stables.

"Emma!" She was nearly crushed in a hug by none other than Henry.

"Hey kid!"

She and the child had gotten extremely close after their encounter with Razart 3 years ago. The senile warlock had mistaken little Emma and baby Henry for his old nemesis Malkroth, striking them with a spell. Emma had been able to shield Henry from most of it, getting the curse to hit her mostly. Ever since them, the two have been inseparable. Emma saw it more as sibling thing, but little Henry, who was an orphan, was more than happy to consider her a parent and mentor of sorts.

"How was your hunt?"

She fished the bag of gold up from the pouch to show Henry. "Successful, as always. How was your training?"

He puffed his chest out just a little bit as he said, "Best of my class!"

She ruffled his hair affectionately. "Just what I like to hear."

"Ooow! Stop it!" Henry groaned as she mussed up his hair, quickly using his hands to make it like he wanted it again.

"Relax! It looks fine! Like you just came from a journey fighting dragons! Girls love windswept hair!" Emma tried to appease the kid, but with the glare she got, it wasn't successful. 8 years-old and already worrying about how handsome he looks to try and impress a girl. He'd be a nightmare by the time he was a teen.

"Well,  _Prince Henry_ , if you're done tidying your hair, you can follow me, and after I drop Ban off at the stables, we can see how well your sword-fighting really is. What do you say?"

He perked up immediately, hair forgotten. Already heading in the direction of the stables. "Let's go!"

Emma shook her head with a smile, tying the bag once more to her belt, leading Bandit along with her. The horse had been rescued from a burning stable a couple of years ago, and Emma had taken ownership of him. Trying to find a name for the horse had been difficult, since nothing worked for the steed.

One day, while Neal and Henry were playing in the barn, the teen had yelled out "Stop! Bandit!" Immediately the horse's ears perked up and the name stuck.

"Well well, the prodigal daughter returns," Neal drawled as she entered the building.

She rolled her eyes, extending the reins to him. "Stuff a sock in it Neal."

Emma and Neal had never gotten along. The only reason they even tolerated each other was because Henry liked to hang with both of them, though Emma was not a fan of Henry's fond and misplaced fascination with the teen and the outlandish tales he told of his adventures.

The 19 year-old grumbled silently, taking the offered reins and leading Bandit to his stall.

Emma knew what this was about. "Stable duty isn't a punishment you know?"

"Says the  _Princess_  who can do no wrong." It was always jealousy with Neal. She didn't understand what the teen's damage was. He had apparently shown up one stormy day requesting asylum 4 years ago and had been here ever since, constantly getting into trouble and breaking rules.

Emma sighed, plopping down on a bale of hay. She saw Henry outside the stables practising his parries and blocks, before turning back to Neal. "You're exaggerating."

"Oh forgive me, I hadn't realized  _you_  get into trouble for sneaking out."

"I do too get in trouble."

"Never seen you get Stable Duty."

"Worse, I get Bookkeeping Duty. Pick your poison man."

That effectively shut him up.

Before they could find anything else to start an argument about, Snow had rushed in. "Oh Emma thank goodness you're here."

"Everything okay, mom?"

She grimaced as a response. "Walk with me."

Emma stole one last look at Neal, who glared at her pointedly, before following her mother out.

She quickly let Henry know that she'd be right back before rushing to follow Snow back to her parents' home.

Once inside, Emma saw that they had a visitor. "Aunt Red!"

The appropriately named red-clad woman stood up from where she was sitting with her father, going over to give her a hug. "My my, you keep growing!"

Emma laughed sarcastically in response, before breaking away to face her mother once again. "What's wrong?"

It was her father who answered. "There's word that the Evil Queen is on the move."

Emma had never met the fearsome woman, but she sounded like a formidable foe, if the stories that she had head of the Queen's hell-bent crusade to end Snow White's happiness were any indication. Her mother had barely survived some of the attacks from the Evil Queen, and had only managed to stop the merciless manhunt from the monarch when Snow had abdicated her claim on the throne more than a decade ago.

Ever since then, Snow White has kept to the darker corners of the Enchanted Forest, taking the role of leader with noble thieves and outlaws who still believed in the Princess. Although the Queen had stopped chasing Snow White, there was constant fear that if Snow White or any of her supporters were to ever appear, the Queen wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

No one had wanted to test the theory, so whenever the Queen went travelling, their merry band of thieves hid out in their refuge until it was safe once again.

Red, along with Granny, had their inn within the Dark Kingdom and were privy of the Queen's comings and goings. With that information relayed confidentially, Storybrooke village had persisted, hidden from view.

* * *

Things had been quiet for the past couple of days. Red had gone back to the Dark Kingdom to help at Granny's Inn, and Storybrooke village was under lockdown until Red came back to give them the all-clear.

Emma groaned, sitting up from her desk where she was keeping track of this week's 'earnings' so that they could figure out how much they could give next time they went out. Unlike some of the gangs of outlaws out there, they worked to make sure people who were less fortunate had enough to eat. They robbed the rich to give to the poor, a motto Snow White had taken quite a shine to from one of their right hands, Robin Hood. He and his merry men had helped Emma's parents to build Storybrooke, and their silent way of helping those in need was renown throughout the kingdoms by the people they helped.

Of course, no one knew who they were, as they were disguised every time. Circus troupe, theatre group, farmers trying to sell their wares, they always changed it up so as to not arouse suspicion with guards and the ruling monarchs.

Now, Emma stood up and headed outside, wanting some sunshine and a break from the work that awaited her when she returned.

"Emma!" She hadn't made it too far out before she heard her name being called. She turned to see the stable master, Jonathan, running to her, waving his arm.

"Is everything alright?" She glanced at the man now standing in front of her, trying to catch his breath.

He looked worried, and as he responded, she knew why. "Have you seen Neal and Henry? They were supposed to be helping me today but I haven't seen either one of them anywhere, the only one who did was Robert, who saw them an hour ago heading towards the gate."

Without responding, she ran towards the stables, grabbing Bandit and leading him towards the entrance gates.

She quickly explained to the guard on-duty that she was going out, not giving too many details as to not alarm anyone. She climbed onto her horse and pulled her hood up before urging Ban forward.

* * *

Although she didn't much care for Neal, if Henry was out with the Evil Queen so nearby, she couldn't help but worry. She made a mental note to remember to suggest Bookkeeping duty for when they caught Neal, so he could get a taste of it.

As she reached the crossroads of pathways, she paused. Where could they have gone?

She didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Emma!" Once again she turned towards the voice calling for her, and her heart leapt at her throat seeing who it was. Henry was running towards her, and he had soot all over his face. Looking at the direction he was coming from, she saw a wall of smoke. Oh no.

She jumped down from her horse and ran the rest of the way, sinking to her knees as she reached the boy. "Henry!" Emma hugged him quickly, and then checked for injuries. Seeing none, she grabbed him by the shoulders and asked, "Are you okay? Where's Neal?"

"I'm fine. Just a little bit of ash. And Neal's still trying to put out the fire-"

Emma didn't even give him a chance to finish; she grabbed him and took her back to her horse, putting him on the saddle in front of her before climbing in herself. She quickly urged Bandit to head in the way Henry had come.

"Start explaining, kid."

"Neal was bored, so he asked me if I wanted to help him rob some bad guys. And I said yes, 'cause who doesn't want to defeat bad guys, especially if it means that you get out of shoveling-"

"Focus Henry."

"Right. Well anyway, we sneaked by Mario and headed out. Then we saw the Ne'er-Do-Well gang running around and we decided to follow them. For information, of course."

Emma didn't believe that for a second. If she knew Neal, he was probably trying to see if he could one-up them in their own game, or rob whoever they were planning on robbing before them. "And how did the fire come into play?"

"We didn't do it! Promise. By the time we reached them they were setting the carriage on fire with whoever's in there still trapped-"

"Wait there's a person still in there!?" Emma didn't wait to hear more, rushing her steed to go faster, "Come on Ban!"

Once they got there, the fire was out of control. Emma quickly checked her pouch for a small bean. She had asked it to be made last year, and Simon, the resident potioneer had laughed at her. Now she was going to prove him wrong.

Ordering Henry to stay on Ban, she climbed down and ran towards the fire, and once she was close enough, she pelted the bean towards the flames.

Suddenly a boom was heard, and it was as if a dam had broken open, as water shot out from where she assumed the bean landed, drenching the area in water, dousing any fire in the area in one fell swoop.

"That was so cool!" Emma smirked at Henry's exclamation, but now she had to rescue both Neal and whoever had been in the carriage. Though chances were that the person in there was a royal, who'd be none-too-pleased at being rescued by a thief, even if she did save their life.

She ran towards the charred area, easily spotting Neal. Crouching beside him, she saw he was still alive, just unconscious with a thick branch holding him down.

Thankfully it wasn't too heavy, so she was able to throw it off relatively easily. Either the branch had fallen after he fell unconscious, or the lack of oxygen depleted his strength. Emma noted that he had some nasty burns on his arms and legs; he needed help right away. She heaved him up and took him back to where Henry and Bandit were.

"Okay kid, you're gonna scooch back so Neal can go draped in the front. Make sure he stays on the horse, and go as fast as you can back to the village. I'll go help the poor soul in the carriage,"  _provided they're still alive_ , she added morbidly in her mind, not wanting to scare off the child.

"What about you?"

"I'll come back later as soon as I finish here. Tell Snow and David that I'm fine and to not worry. And Henry, under  _no_  circumstances are you to run away again, understood?"

He nodded. "Yes, mom."

Emma let the title slide. Although she wasn't too comfortable with the name of the role, she knew Henry needed a family, and he had appointed her as his sole family, no room for questions.

"Okay now go!" She watched as Bandit carried Henry and Neal off, taking a deep breath.

Now to go rescue a royal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the first chapter!
> 
> Just to clarify some things, yes that is Neal, as in Rumpelstiltskin's Baelfire, and no, Henry is not Emma's nor Neal's kid.
> 
> To that end, the ages I mentioned here are correct, Emma in the beginning scene was 5, Neal 16, and Henry was a wee baby. Now 3 years later Emma is in her 20s, Henry is 8, and Neal is 19. I'm pretty sure the answer is obvious, but it shall be explained further into the story for clarification.
> 
> As for the Razart and Malkroth, they're just warring old-timers.
> 
> Please let me know what you think, and in the next chapter, we'll see who Emma is rescuing!


	2. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have the official intro of an important character and the plot truly begins.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this.

Emma made her way closer to the carriage, flinching at the charred and blackened state it was in. Thankfully it seemed that the horses were taken away before the fire started, and perhaps anyone accompanying the carriage. Now she just had to hope that whoever was in it wasn't dead.

Although Emma's status as a thief might make it seem villainous, she was far from it. She always made sure her targets were rich enough that they could survive losing the money, and she never went out with the intention of hurting anyone. Now if any idiots got in her way, she knew just how to deal with them, hence why she carried her bow and arrows, as well as a motley of knives hidden away. But Emma was proud to say she had never killed anyone, nor would she ever.

Once she found the door, she saw with a pang that the handle was broken, and the glass window wasn't wide enough to pass a human through it. But air was a necessity. Emma tried to peer inside, but only saw darkness. The thief hoped that the victim wasn't near the door as she elbowed the glass in.

It shattered instantly on contact, and Emma relaxed a bit knowing that at least air was getting in there. She groped around for the inner door handle, and found it missing too. Trying to budge the door with her bare hands had no success, the Ne'er-Do-Well gang must've done everything to ensure whoever was in there couldn't open the door by any means.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Emma tentatively called to the dark depths inside the carriage. She got no response.

She reached around and grabbed one of her arrows from her quiver, and wedged it in the doorjamb. Emma hoped that her arrow wouldn't snap, and started to apply pressure, hoping the door's lock was flimsy.

It was. With a crack and a snap, the door opened, and her arrow split in half. She had plenty of other arrows so she just dropped the broken one and glanced inside. There. An unconscious figure draped in black was lying on the floor. Emma scrambled to get the figure out of the vehicle and on the ground to inspect them better.

 _Wow._  That was the first thought that came to Emma as she saw the gorgeous figure she was holding properly in the sunlight. Silky dark brown hair and flawless skin, this woman must be one hell of a queen to be looking so luscious. Or maybe this woman was an angel. The dark and revealing fancy dress shot that last idea down, but Emma was fascinated. So much so that she nearly forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Checking to see if she was alive. Right.

The green-clad thief quickly put the woman gently on the ground, using a fallen trunk as a pillow to prop the woman up on. She checked her pulse and was relieved to find out that her mysterious royal was still alive. She didn't appear to be injured, but her wrists were tied together behind her. Emma reached towards the dagger by her boot and slashed the rope open. As soon as the royal's hands were free, Emma made sure the brunette woman was lying comfortably before she refocused on her surroundings.

The royal would need water when she woke up after inhaling so much smoke, and Emma's canteen was inside one of Ban's pouches, probably back in Storybrooke Village by now. Looking around, she saw a pile of contents lying just outside of the circle of fire-ravaged forest. Upon closer inspection, Emma recognized the things as Neal's. The sword was definitely his, he must've dropped everything when he rushed into the fire to try and rescue whoever this woman was. She thanked her lucky stars as she spotted a canteen among the contents Neal had brought. Also there was a small pouch of gold and his cloak.

Emma attached the sheathed sword to her belt and gathered everything else in her arms, taking it closer to the woman on the ground, who was just now waking up. She made sure her hood was up properly and prepared herself.

* * *

The first thing Regina noticed was the smell of smoke. Before she had even opened her eyes, the smell of burnt wood attacked her senses, disorienting her. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in the Enchanted Forest, and the trees around her were charred.

Then she remembered. Her guards stopping at the blockade of thieves, the sea of arrows on fire, the manacle, her hands tied up, being shoved into her carriage and then locked in. Trying to open the door by any means possible. Choking on smoke. A final plea of desperation.  _Please...anyone_.

She cleared her throat, that moment of weakness would stay hidden until her dying day.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, your Highness." Regina jumped at hearing the voice speak, and for a chilling moment, she thought that the thieves were still here. But this was the voice of a woman. The gang of bandits before had all been men. She turned her head and her heart sunk.

The figure a little ways from where she was lying was clad in green, a sword by her hip, a bow and another sword strapped to her back, arrows peeking out from the quiver. Her face was shrouded in darkness due to the hood, which made Regina antsy. This woman was clearly a thief. She must've been more out of it than she thought, as she usually kept her face an impassive mask, only breaking to show anger. Never happiness, or even more rarely, fear. But right now, her face betrayed her apprehension.

The thief must've noticed her expression and brought her hands up in a placating gesture, leather-glove clad hands trying to calm the royal. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Regina scoffed, making a move to retort with a biting response, but her words got caught in her throat as she coughed, probably from the smoke still in her lungs that she had inhaled.

"Oh right, here drink this." The thief held out a canteen towards her, but Regina eyed it warily. Sensing the mistrust, the other woman sighed, bringing the canteen to her face, but rose it a bit further so that the water was visibly cascading into her mouth. Once a bit of the water was swallowed, she turned back to look at the royal, once more holding it out. "See? Not poisoned."

Regina finally relented, taking a hearty swig from the offered canteen. After she finally felt that her voice was back, she said, "I hope you're not expecting some reward for this,  _thief_." The last word was said with a sneer and a glare to the mysterious figure crouching by her side.

But the thief merely smirked. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice, your Highness."

That was something Regina never did, and especially refused to do, seeing the self-righteous smirk in her saviour. "And whyever would I want to say such a thing?"

"Because I saved your life."

"I beg to differ. I was doing quite fine without your meddling."

Regina heard a scoff and it made her blood boil. How dare this woman not treat her with respect. Or even cower at her feet. "Of course your Highness, I hadn't realized that collapsing from the smoke inside your carriage with your hands bound behind your back was part of your plan."

The royal glared, getting the thief to smirk even more. Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk off of her face. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I'm assuming you are some sort of queen or royal. The forest isn't exactly privy to all the comings and goings of high life gossip, so forgive me if you're supposed to be this intimidating figure in your land."

Regina had had enough of this farce. She stood up, fists clenching, glaring down at the still crouching thief.

After a beat, the thief stood, the figure was slightly taller than she was, and with the smirk still in place, she crossed her arms. Neither woman said anything for a while, but Regina would not relent.

"If you know what's good for you, thief, you'll wipe that smirk off your face or..." Turning her arm towards her chest, she went to make the familiar movement to call up a fireball, but was met with nothing but air on her clawed hand.

"...Or you'll offer your hand to me?" The smirk grew even wider if possible, and Regina swore she heard a chuckle. "I'm flattered your Highness. Perhaps we should start making our way to your land before dusk falls?"

Regina looked down at her hand, wondering why her magic was failing her. It was then she realized she still had the manacle on. The one that supposedly took away her ability to do magic. She  _had_  felt weaker once that disgusting bandit had slapped it on her, though she had spat in his face as retribution. She didn't want to admit to this woman about the manacle, the thief would surely take advantage of it. Besides, she'd be leaving her in a bit. "And what makes you think you'll be accompanying me anywhere? I can handle myself just fine, thief."

"But the woods aren't safe, your Highness."

"I can take care of myself."

"Without so much as a weapon? I doubt it."

Regina realized, though she'd never admit it out loud, the thief was right. She had no magic, and she had no weapons at her disposal. Her skills with a sword were rusty at best, some key lessons still in her mind from the long-past days spent with her father, where he indulged her in some fencing lessons. "You don't know me, I don't need a weapon to help me."

"Forgive me, your Highness, but I don't believe you."

Regina didn't even deign to respond, making her way out of the charred area of the forest, heading in the way that the carriage was facing, which clearly had to be the direction her kingdom was located.

After a few paces, she heard a voice call to her. "Forgive me your Highness, but you're headed in the direction of King Leo's kingdom. To the best of my knowledge, King Leo is a man, and an unmarried one at that, so would I be wrong in assuming you have no idea where you are going?"

Regina whipped back to face the thief. She stomped back to where the insufferable woman stood, all the while trying to channel all her malice and Evil Queen elegance she could muster. She unconsciously started to make a gesture to call up rocks ready to pelt the woman as a threat, but once more nothing came, not that she noticed it at first. "If you are trying to trick or deceive me, thief I swear-"

"Yes yes I know, you'll do some vague hand movement that is meant to be threatening." Regina could hear the sarcasm in the response, which only made the queen purse her lips even more, and narrow her eyes as if glaring could intimidate the thief. "But really, what possible reason could I have for trying to deceive you?"

The other woman clearly must think her a fool. "You jest. Do you really think of me as that stupid? You are a thief and I am a royal, stranded in a forest, why wouldn't you deceive me?"

"Well, your Highness, I believe you just answered your query. You are stranded in the Enchanted Forest, and you should know that us thieves don't just steal, we help those who need it." Regina saw that the smirk had morphed into a smile, the thief seeming friendlier just like that.

"And what makes you think I need help?"

There was a groan, and Regina was sure that, if she could have seen the woman's eyes, she'd be rolling them. "It won't kill you to admit it, you know?"

Regina didn't answer, for what could she say? She was completely lost, though her stubbornness would never let her admit that, and denying it further would just prompt the thief to keep goading her until she did. So she did the next best thing, and started to walk away in another direction. She had a general knowledge of where her kingdom was located in relation to King Leo's, and headed in the direction she believed her kingdom was located.

Of course the thief followed her. Regina couldn't hear their footfalls, she supposed the thief was an expert on not making any noise, but the queen could tell there was a presence trailing behind her.

"If it makes you feel better," the thief piped up after a few minutes of silent walking, "You can always just say that I wouldn't stop bugging you or leaving you alone and kept you company."

Regina stopped walking and turned once more to face the mysterious thief, finally finding a reason to smirk herself. "Is that not what you are doing regardless?"

"Touché." The thief bowed her head a little bit in recognition that she had been outwitted. "Am I to take this to mean I am indeed accompanying you to your kingdom?"

"Do I have a choice?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! Well not really, it was more conversation that anything, I just couldn't resist the snarkfest between these two.
> 
> So Emma and Regina have met! What do you think?
> 
> Next up will be the travel and adventures through the forest, including a sleepover [oooooh~]


	3. Travels and Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, our two leading ladies are still going to be bantering, because I just can't resist some good snark.
> 
> So we'll see how that all progresses below! Enjoy!

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we're walking in the direction of the Dark Kingdom."

Regina prayed to the gods that she would be granted the patience to survive this ordeal without finding a magic-less alternative to burning this entire Forest down and the insufferable thief with it. Without turning, she called back, "And what if we were? Is that too much for the  _great_  thief?"

The thief just chuckled, shaking her head. "Not at all, but what that  _would_  mean, is that you're the Evil Queen."

The royal visibly bristled for the quickest fraction of a second at the mention of the moniker, before she was once again impassive. Best to play dumb while she was powerless. "Is that so?"

"Indeed, though I am curious as to why the Evil Queen would allow herself to get captured as such and then be walking on foot with a thief such as myself. Unless you lost your powers."

She admired the deep thinking that went into this theory. Clearly the thief  _was_  well-versed on her, despite her earlier comment on not being too privy on royals. "A fascinating though incorrect theory. It just so happens that I am visiting the Dark Kingdom, and would rather not make the long trip back to my kingdom."

Emma didn't believe that for a second. The woman who was ready to head in the wrong direction all of a sudden knows that she is closer to the Dark Kingdom than her own supposed kingdom, not to mention that all of Storybrooke was hiding because the Evil Queen was out and about travelling, and wouldn't be entertaining a guest because of that. But it was best to not question. If she was the Evil Queen, Emma had to be double careful. "So, pray tell, how did you plan to protect yourself?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're a powerless royal just passing through the Enchanted Forest without any weapons, and currently without your guards, what would you do if you were under attack?"

Regina scoffed, nose scrunching in disgust. "I was under the impression that this was why you invited yourself to accompany me all the way back to the Dark Kingdom."

The thief didn't miss the slip with 'back', but she decided to file that away for another time. "Ah, but if I remember correctly, you were convinced you didn't need my company, leading me to think you believe yourself well prepared if the Ne'er-Do-Well gang returns."

The Queen didn't want to keep entertaining this moronic conversation, so she just kept walking, ignoring the thief.

After some minutes had passed, Emma piped up, "I can teach you to fight, if your pride can take it."

Regina whipped around, ready to give the thief a piece of her mind, no matter if she had to do it with a branch. No one made jabs at her pride and lived to tell the tale. So with an icy tone that she was sure would convey the message of 'Mind your tongue or else' she asked, "And what exactly do you mean by  _that_?"

Either the message didn't get across, or she was just foolhardy, because Emma shrugged, walking a bit to stand closer in front of the Queen, but still at a respectable distance. "Just that you seem like a very proud person, as royals are wont to be, meaning you think that getting someone to teach you to fight would paint you in a weak light, and asking for it of your own accord would shoot down this image of a powerful royal you have built around yourself. So instead you just act menacing and intimidating, knowing people won't mess with you, because they fear you. Your weapons are words, but I'm wondering if perhaps you'd allow me to teach you so at least you aren't defenseless if someone from the Ne'er-Do-Well gang should decide to finish the job."

Although Regina would never admit it out loud, she had to hand it to the thief, she was smart, and had hit most points correctly. But she had magic, learning to fend for herself with something as mediocre as a sword served her no purpose, so she shot the idea down in case the thief got any ideas. Turning around to continue walking towards her kingdom, Regina shot back, "Again a fascinating theory that you're incorrect about. I have no interest nor the need to have a thief teach me anything, not to mention it'd be a waste of time. I wish to go back to m- the Dark Kingdom, not spend my time with pointless practises."

"Ah, but we'll have to set up camp sometime, and perhaps soon, as darkness is beginning to fall, and travelling at night is not recommended."

"Oh really? And why is that? Don't tell me that you are all superstitious and timid cowards."

"Far from it," Emma responded with a scowl, even if the other woman wouldn't see it as she wasn't looking at her, and the hood took away the full effect her glare could have. "But there are some bands that target nighttime travelers who, like you, are naive enough to think powering through to reach your destination is a wise idea."

"How is that not cowardice? Besides, can't you just coordinate a temporary truce with them to let us pass? Budding thieves or something?"

Emma didn't miss the dismissive and scornful tone the Queen spoke in. But she still deigned with a response. "That  _is_  our truce: As long as we're off the roads at night, they won't come after us."

"Well then we'll just travel  _off_  the road. I'm sure your excellent sense of direction and your expertise can get us to my destination without getting caught by them?"

"Nope. Wolves."

"Seriously? And what, if we're camping they'll just ignore us?"

"Precisely. Because we're showing them we're just travelling, rather than infringing on their hunt, which they take to mean a breach of their boundaries. And you  _don't_  want to have wolves thinking that, they can get pretty territorial."

"Sounds to me like you're just making excuses to get us to make camp."

"It's politics, your Highness. We all live in this forest and we've learnt to share our space to make sure everyone has their ground. All the bands of thieves within this forest have specific boundaries and markets that they go after, and they stay out of the pickings of other thieves. The same goes for wolves and other predators that may decide to take up their home here.

"Think of it as diplomacy. You wouldn't barge into someone else's kingdom and take control of everything just because it was convenient to you at the time..." Emma paused for a second before adding, "actually, you probably  _would_  do that."

Regina was thankful that the thief couldn't see her face because she couldn't stop the grin that broke out on her face. The thief had galls, she had to to give her that, lesser men had peed their breeches just being in the same room as her, and this thief was unapologetic. "Perhaps, but very well, today has been a rather long and strenuous one, so I will acquiesce to your camping idea."

* * *

A few hours later they had made camp near Amazon Grove, a place Emma had discovered a while back that perfectly provided a place to rest. She had finally talked Grumpy into eventually hollowing out the tree so it could be used as a miniature safe haven away from Storybrooke, but for now the thick canopy tree served as a good shelter from the elements - especially since they didn't have any tents to do that for them.

Emma had gotten a fire going, and was preparing their dinner, a freshly caught rabbit that she had captured just before they reached camp. She had seen the look of apprehension the Queen threw at her, but it was either that or nothing.

"If you want to freshen up a bit at the pond, you can do so, the water's clean. You can take this cloak to dry yourself afterwards."

Regina went to do that, splashing some water on her face and her hands. She had taken the offered cloak to dry herself, unsure why the thief was carrying an extra cloak and another sword, almost as if they belonged to someone else. So when she returned, she sat on a log by the fire, beside the log the thief had propped for herself, and decided quell her curiosity. "Why exactly are you carrying an additional cloak and an extra sword?"

"A...friend of mine had been nearby your carriage when the fire attacked, but he got knocked out, so I sent him back to my camp with my horse where he could get treatment. Thing is, he had dropped his stuff before rushing into the fire, but I hadn't noticed until after I sent him off."

Regina glanced at the hooded thief, noting that the fire still didn't light her face enough to see what she looked like. "And your horse is smart enough to know where to go all by itself?"

"For the most part. Plus he had company." Emma wasn't really willing to offer more than that or explain Henry. So she cleared her throat and stood up. "Well the extra supplies served for one thing, sword training is much easier with real swords rather than sticks."

Regina raised a haughty eyebrow. "And here I thought you were just trying to interest me into making camp by any means possible.  _You_  want to teach  _me_  in how to handle a sword?"

The thief turned back to face her, the light from the fire casting a more dramatic shadow over her face. "Is that not what I said I would do? What sort of companion would I be if I didn't?"

"Companion? You are certainly assertive towards a Queen."

Regina heard a scoff, and then an amused sigh as the thief mockingly bowed, and said, "Could I interest her Highness in allowing me to teach her the basics of sword-fighting?"

Since the thief couldn't see her, Regina allowed herself the smallest hint of a smile. "Very well, but no funny business or tricks."

As the Queen stood, Emma held out a sword with the hilt out towards her, gripping the blade. With a chuckle, she said, "Far from it, if anything, I should be the one worried as you'll now have a weapon to use."

Regina took the grip in her hand, and smirked. "Well then, you'll just have to hope you give me no reason to use it."

Far from being intimidated, the thief just returned the smirk. "Now, let's see your stance."

She took up what she believed to be the correct stance, only to get the thief to tut. "If I may correct your position, your Highness?"

Regina knew she was being mocked, but still responded. "Yes, you may."

Suddenly, she felt a boot worm between her own firmly planted boots, spacing them apart, widening her stance. "Always keep your feet spaced out. You want to be balanced with a wide stance. Keeping your feet stuck together as they were and you're like a board in the wind: one strong gust and you're going to topple over."

Next, Regina felt hands on her shoulder, but they were comforting and gentle, rather than the expected roughness. "Don't be tense. You need to be relaxed so you have more flexibility to counter-attack.

"Lastly, keep your sword closer to your body." Regina hoped her minuscule flinch wasn't noticeable as a warm hand - no longer gloved - clasped itself around her own hand holding the sword, and brought it closer to her chest.

She wondered how they must look now, A queen learning a proper sword fighting stance from a thief, the latter standing behind the queen, one leg planted firmly between the Queen's dress skirt, left hand on her shoulder, and the right one over her own hand. It certainly had all the marks of being an intimate moment.

"Good, much better." Emma stepped away from where she had been standing, mentally slapping herself. She should not be getting so close to a woman who could potentially be the Evil Queen. Though at the same time, she wondered if perhaps her mother had exaggerated. Powers or not, this woman hardly seemed the evil sort. At most she was cold and demanding, but so far she hadn't received death threats. She took her own sword out and smirked. "Now, for some simple sparring."

While the rabbit finished cooking, Emma and Regina traded a few jabs, dancing back and forth as Emma gave her tips. Emma had managed to get a few touches in, though she was using the broad side of her sword, and so avoided actually hurting the other woman.

Regina, for all her efforts, couldn't get a touch in edgewise, but she had to admit that by the time they sat down to eat, she had a smile on her face that she just couldn't hide. And the thief saw it. "I'm guessing you enjoyed our little training session?"

But of course, Regina was stubborn, so she gave a noncommittal hum and said, "Informative at most."

"Whatever you say, your Highness," Emma chuckled before adding, "perhaps we'll continue our lessons another day?"

Regina scoffed, "Another day? You sound very sure of yourself, Thief. You don't even know where I reside."

Emma just shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find a way to seek you out."

"I doubt it. But I trust that this...lesson will be kept between us, and you won't go boasting about it to all your fellow thieves?"

"Of course. After all, who'd believe me?"

* * *

After dinner was done, Regina decided to take a look at her manacle in more detail. The thief was putting a protection charm of some sort that she had gotten from her pouch, so Regina was alone to try and see if she could find some weak point in the object and pry it off. She would loathe having to go to Rumpelstiltskin, even if he had supposedly turned a new leaf with his beau, the bookworm.

"If you glare at it a little bit more, you might get that bracelet to run away in fear." Regina almost jumped a mile as she heard the thief return.

Regina ignored the jab, and instead asked, "Done putting the protection spell?"

The thief nodded and grinned. "Yeah, anyone tries to invade, we'll be notified."

"What happens if it's a mouse?"

"The protection spell is smart enough to know what we want to be protected from."

"What if some predators disguise themselves as mice in order to bypass the protection?" Regina was sure the thief was preparing to argue, so she just smirked.

But instead, she returned the smirk with one of her own. "Don't worry, your Highness, if that happens, I'll protect you."

Regina's expression fell in record time, sobering up immediately.

Emma thought she should at least try to inquire on the manacle that the royal had been glaring at. "So, what's up with the bracelet? You were pretty adamant in trying to take it off."

"It's nothing. And I don't want to take it off," Regina responded icily.

"Don't want to, or can't?"

She really wanted to take the woman down a peg. How dare she be so arrogant! In a way it was impressive, though at the same time, Regina was used to people reacting a certain way towards her. But she didn't want to respond to the thief, because responding would mean explaining, and Regina wasn't about to do that. So once more, the subject was changed. "What are we supposed to sleep on?"

If the thief was bothered by the subject change, she didn't show, and instead just plopped down in front of the canopy tree, back resting against the base of the trunk. "Sleep on?  _I'm_  sleeping against this tree, you're welcome to join me."

"I am  _not_  sleeping sitting upright against a tree trunk!" Now Emma could see the prissy queen. Up till now she had held her tongue quite nicely, Emma had been betting with herself as to when she'd crack. It seems bet #10 had been the clincher.

"Well, your Highness, it's either that or you can sleep on the ground."

If looks could kill, Emma would already be 6 feet under with a mountain of dirt above her. "I am not sleeping on the ground. Don't tell me that you don't have any sleeping bags with you?"

"Sorry to break it to you, but it wasn't in my itinerary to go camping today. So no, no supplies. If you're truly that fussy, you can always use the cloak. Lay it out like a sheet and sleep on it."

Emma clearly wasn't helping her case in preventing her murder by a queen who may or may not be evil in the middle of a forest. "And what, pray tell, would I use as a pillow?"

She thought wildly for a moment before saying what she was sure would be the final nail on her coffin. "Well you can always use my legs. I promise I don't kick in my sleep."

The queen stood mute for a few minutes. Meanwhile Emma was trying to think if she should take this to mean she should get a head start and run as far away as she could, trying to prevent being murdered. But she stayed stock still, and then, "Very well, I don't suppose I have much of a choice."

And so Regina went up to the thief, set down the cloak perpendicular to the thief's left thigh, and then carefully laid down on her side so she was facing toward's the thief's stomach. She tracked her eyes upwards, and was surprised she could see a little bit further into the hood. It was still shadowed, but now she could make out her eyes faintly, staring at her with something akin to admiration, and wonder.

"Well, good night. I want to be able to get an early start tomorrow, so I hope you're an early riser."

The thief chuckled. "Of course, your Highness, good night."

* * *

Emma opened her eyes and was greeted with darkness. The embers from the fire had died, and everything seemed peaceful enough, only the night sounds of the forest filling the air. Glancing downwards and she found what had woken her. The queen had been gripping tightly onto her thigh, sleeping peacefully. She had to smile at the sight. If this truly  _was_  the Evil Queen, then Emma was just about ready to claim that the moniker didn't fit the woman at all. The woman in front of her was adorable. Perhaps a bit high-maintenance, but the banter that they had was something Emma revelled in.

Glancing a the arm on top of her thigh, she saw once more the leather bracelet that the queen had been studying. It didn't look to be decorative, it almost looked like a shackle, the black leather seemed constricting and bleak. She gingerly went to grab the wrist covered by the manacle, and brought it closer to her face, while simultaneously leaning forward so that she didn't have to raise the arm so high. Looking at the underside, Emma saw that there was some kind of clasp, but it didn't look like it could be easily undone.

But then again, that manacle hadn't been tested against Emma Swan. With as much care as she could, she put the wrist back on top of her thigh, making sure the palm was up, and went to grab the tools from her pouch. In a few seconds, she got to work.

Half an hour later, Emma had heard a faint click, and the clasp became undone. Along with it came the smell of apples. She hazarded a guess that it was probably the queen's magical signature.

2 years ago Red had taught her how to recognize magic users by using smell. According to her, everyone's 'signature' was different, which made it hard to distinguish body scents and perfumes from the signature. But training the nose made it possible to distinguish whether the smell was the signature, or just a fragrance. Emma sometimes still had trouble distinguishing the two, but she was sure this was a magical signature.

Now she took the bracelet away, closed it back again, and stuffed it into the compartment below her quiver of arrows.

Once more settling down, Emma couldn't help but wonder what would happen when they parted ways tomorrow. But one thing was for sure, before next week came, she was going to visit her again.

* * *

As Regina came to, she noticed that the bed she was on felt very strange. It had a very comfortable pillow but the mattress was stiff as hell. Opening her eyes, she remembered where she was and immediately proceeded to jump far away from the thief.

"Morning your Highness, sleep well?" It seemed the thief had been awake. For how long, Regina preferred not to know.

"I've had better nights." Truth was, despite the unorthodox bed, she hadn't slept this well in a very long time, but she wasn't about to admit that.

"Come on, I'll see if I can grab us some quick breakfast and then we can head out. If we make good time, we should arrive at the edge of the Forest by noon." Emma stood up and grabbed her quiver and bow, looking for small game they could quickly munch on before setting back on their journey.

She also wondered how long it'd take the queen to realize her magical powers were back. And what would happen then.

* * *

Apparently a really long while.

Emma had been expecting that within 10 minutes she'd have a fireball headed towards her face - which, according to her mother, was the Evil Queen's signature move - and yet the other woman hadn't said a peep about her magic.

And now they were at the edge of the Forest, the noon sun shining on them. A few miles away lay the gates for the Dark Kingdom.

"Well, I believe I can take it from here."

Emma turned to look at the regal woman beside her. "Very well, your Highness. I wish you all the best."

Without waiting for a response, Emma turned to walk back towards home.

"Wait."

Regina wasn't sure what possessed her to want to do this, but she was feeling particularly generous. Once the thief turned to face her, she said, "Thank you. For rescuing me and the training."

The thief smirked. "And nothing for my charming company? I'm wounded."

She scoffed. "Be grateful that I'm actually thanking you."

Emma could see the hint of amusement in the queen's eyes, so she tilted her head downwards in a small gesture of respect. "You're welcome. Perhaps we shall see each other again."

Once more she received a scoff. "I doubt it. I don't think your people and mine mix particularly well for us to get acquainted."

"Oh? Who said it was going to be a social call?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was this chapter!
> 
> For those wondering why Regina didn't notice her magic was back, everything shall soon be explained to you. I say soon and then end up taking months, so "soon" is a relative term. I was mostly referring to the fact I'll touch on it in the next chapter.
> 
> I'm hoping that their 'relationship' seems natural and not rushed, so please let me know your thoughts!
> 
> And don't think Emma will leave Regina alone! She was already plotting, perhaps the Evil Queen will receive a visit from the mysterious thief?


	4. Visits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm stoked that everyone seems to be liking the pace I've set out, and I hope that this chapter is entertaining to everyone!
> 
> So please, enjoy!

One week had passed before Emma dared to approach the Dark Kingdom in the middle of the night. By now she was convinced that the royal she had escorted had been the infamous Evil Queen, considering that Red had come over the day following Emma's adventure to let them know that it was safe, and that the Queen had arrived the day before.

What had puzzled her parents, as well as Red and other members of the village - all who formed Storybrooke's Council - was that the Queen hadn't been seen arriving at her palace with her carriage, but rather had magicked herself there, according to what Red had overheard from the palace workers who frequented the Inn's tavern. No one in the Dark Kingdom had seen the carriage the Queen had left in, and Emma was thankful that by the time she had returned to the site of the fire, the carriage was gone, probably looted by another band of bandits for scrap parts.

Her parents had grilled her once she had returned to Storybrooke, asking where she had been. Emma made up a story that the carriage had been empty when she had reached it, musing that perhaps the person inside had escaped or was burned to a crisp. While returning, she explained that she had found a group of travelers headed to the Ashen Mountains and she decided to escort them to the edge of the Forest, putting her far away from the Dark Kingdom, as well as giving her an alibi in the form of companions that would never be seen again.

But the questions just kept on coming: why hadn't she found a way to contact them, was she careful, was there any chance the Evil Queen had been nearby or orchestrated anything, could the carriage have been the Evil Queen's, did she see anyone after the fire was put out, why didn't she come back to the village right away? Emma had been there for more than 3 hours sitting at a table across from her parents, answering the questions convincingly enough. It wasn't as if there would be too many repercussions if she  _did_  tell the truth. She was too much of an important and competent figure to be kept away from missions, so bookkeeping duty would be the worst she would be faced with, and she already did that anyway. But she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to keep visiting the royal, something that surely would never happen if she told her parents the truth.

Thankfully she didn't have to corroborate with Neal and Henry to make sure her story matched with their tale. Neal, as it turned out, had a small concussion, plus his injuries and burns were healing slowly, Simon's salves could only do so much; his mild concussion meant that he had forgotten what happened that day before he was knocked unconscious. Henry hadn't actually seen anything, just what he'd been told by Neal before he had run off to the village and found Emma.

Now, Emma had been coming back from a solo mission in a small village near the Hinterlands, and night had fallen. She saw that the Dark Kingdom was nearby, and she smirked. She would visit the royal and then crash with Red in the Inn. She guided Ban towards the stables outside the kingdom, giving the stable boy there just enough for the night. She didn't want to attract attention to herself by giving too much money; after all, this kingdom was off-limits to their activities, for nothing would be worse than incurring the wrath of the Evil Queen. Or so her mother parroted. Of course, the Lupine Night Inn and Tavern was a safe haven for them, despite its less than stellar location. The general rule they tried to keep was: the less the Evil Queen knew about them, the better.

So the fact that Emma was currently making her way to the Evil Queen's castle, after having survived last week's adventure unscathed, was making her a serious candidate for someone with a death wish.

But as she weaved through the shadows, keeping her hooded head down and staying quiet as drunks paraded down the road and others were tiredly headed home after a long day of work, she honestly couldn't see herself missing this opportunity. She had promised herself that she would visit, and teasing the royal - apart from playing with fire and bringing her one step closer to her grave - was pure entertainment.

Once she reached the castle walls, she made her way to what seemed like a quieter side of the perimeter, which meant less chance of her being caught. The thief waited until the patrolling guard passed, nocked an arrow - with rope attached to the end of it - onto her bow, and fired it into a mortar groove near the top of the stone wall. Checking that the arrow was sturdy by pulling on the rope, she quickly climbed, and once she was safely on top of the ledge, she freed the arrow, putting it away once more into her quiver and dropped down the other side. She looked around and surprisingly saw that there was no guard here. In fact, this seemed like a very private garden, with only one way out, and that was through the open french doors and into the castle. Slowly padding through the garden, Emma saw that the interior was a luxurious bedroom, probably the Queen's bedroom.

Indeed, sitting on a chaise, sipping some wine while reading a book, was the very comfortable figure of the royal she had accompanied. Sometimes she could have impeccable luck.

"You know," Emma started, leaning against the frame of the open doors, crossing her arms and planting a smirk on her face, "If I knew that's how well  _guests_  were treated in the Dark Kingdom, I'd fake my way in here and start living the life."

She hadn't even finished her quip before the brunette had stood quickly, depositing the items she had been holding, body tense and all signs of relaxation long gone as a fireball engulfed her right hand, the chaise in front of her serving as a barrier. Then she saw who it was and her snarl loosened just the slightest bit, grinding out a terse, "You."

Emma gave a mock bow, but made no attempt to enter the room. "The one and only. Though I'm surprised, your Highness, I thought you said you didn't possess powers?"

Regina quickly extinguished the ball of fire in her hand, but was still alert. Despite having helped her a week before, there was no telling if the thief was going to use this to try and rob her blind, trying to get her guard down first. Though if that was the thief's plan, she had another thing coming, because if there was one thing that Regina wasn't, was a fool. "Considering that you clearly removed the manacle from me that stunted my powers, I'm surprised you ask."

"And yet, you didn't use your powers, or question it, throughout that morning at all."

"I had no need to, and besides, I don't believe I am required to inform you of my powers."

The thief just continued to smirk. "Perhaps not, though I don't believe that was your real reason for keeping the fact from me."

No, it wasn't the real reason, the thief was right. But Regina wasn't ready to admit that it was because she had enjoyed the thief's company, and was certain that a display of her power would get the hooded woman to see her differently, as well as cut their travel together shorter. "Again, why does it matter?"

"You let me teach you sword-fighting."

"You were insisting."

"I was under the impression you would be interested in being able to defend yourself, with something other than magic," Emma retorted.

"Perhaps I was curious. But enough games. What do you want, thief?"

"Apart from wanting to confirm that you are indeed the Queen residing in this castle, I did say I would visit. So, may I come in?"

Regina finally moved around the chaise, drawing her robe tighter to herself, and asked in an exasperated voice, "So you can rob me?"

The thief shook her head, putting her hands in a placating gesture. "No, I give you my word that I will not rob nor hurt you."

She raised an eyebrow, "And who said anything about hurting?"

"Your body language, your Highness. Your drew your robe closer to yourself, commonly seen as a sign of discomfort, fear, and wanting to protect oneself."

"You seem well-versed on body language," Regina said, giving the smallest of an impressed smirk.

"I am, I study my marks closely, and have picked up a thing or two over the years," Emma shrugged nonchalantly, before adding hurriedly, "Not that you're a mark, I'm merely explaining that I've studied people at length."

"I see. And, should I invite you in, what would you plan on doing?"

"I figured you might want another round of training to sword-fight."

"An interesting plan that doesn't really hold much weight now that you know I have magic."

"Your Highness, as you have probably surmised, I was well-aware that you knew magic by the time I offered you that lesson in the Grove, but I still thought you were interested in learning to fight using a sword."

Regina pondered it for a bit, and decided that she would indulge in this activity for a bit. "Very well, but we'll do it outside, there's more space than my room."

Emma nodded, and took a step back, though she was internally musing that the Queen's entire suite was probably bigger than her cabin.

She saw some purple smoke, and the robe was gone, instead the Queen was elegantly dressed in riding pants, leather boots, and a simple cotton tunic, hair pulled away from her face and into a ponytail. Emma thought that the royal looked absolutely gorgeous right then, but decided to keep those thoughts to herself.

Emma had brought along an extra sword in case the royal would agree to the lesson, and was glad that it hadn't been in vain.

Regina stepped outside to the clear late summer night, and said, "Come, there's a nice place where we can practise."

The thief followed, and soon saw a beautiful apple tree on the edge of a paved courtyard; the space was plenty expansive for them to practise, Emma only saw one problem, "Won't it be a bit dark? The tree blocks out the moonlight."

The Queen just gave Emma a smirk over her shoulder, and made a circular motion with her hand. Suddenly a dozen stone lanterns resting on pedestals were lighted, filling the area with a warm glow.

Emma let out a low whistle as the Queen turned to look at her, smirking. "Impressed?"

"I'll be more impressed if you can land a touch on me," Emma said, unsheathing the sword at her waist and handing it - hilt out - towards the royal.

"Very well," Regina responded, taking the sword and getting into stance, while Emma reached behind her left shoulder for the sword strapped to her back.

"First to get a touch wins the round. Ready?"

Regina nodded, and they began parrying.

Emma was impressed, the royal seemed to have remembered her lessons from the week before, but she still managed to get the first touch.

"Not bad, let's go again. Remember, try to economize on your moves and be more direct. Superfluous moves will only mean more time to react, meaning less time to counter and defend yourself."

She only received a stiff nod, and the thief saw that the royal had a determined look on her face.

As they began to practise once more, they managed to last longer than before, but once more Emma managed to get a touch in first.

Regina let out a huff. "This is impossible."

The thief shook her head. "It's not impossible, you're still learning."

Regina saw the thief step forward, making a gesture towards her. "May I?"

"Yes," Regina said, nodding once.

Emma went to stand behind the brunette, putting her own sword back in its scabbard. "Stand on top of my feet."

Regina whipped around to look at the thief, confusion and apprehension evident. "What?"

"Just trust me. Turn around, and stand on my boots."

The thief was glad that the royal wasn't wearing heeled boots as she heeded her instructions. Her boots might be resistant, but even they had a limit. She rested her chin on the brunette's right shoulder, and gently placed her left hand over the queen's taut stomach. She felt the tiniest of tremors from the Queen as her hand settled over the shirt, and again as her right hand clasped over the Queen's hand which held the sword.

"It's okay, I've got you," Emma said softly, before she said, a bit louder, "Now, the point is to angle your body so your right side is facing outward. Unless you have a shield, then it's better to alternate or have your left further out for protection. Now watch."

Together, Emma managed to move both of them, keeping the royal in place flush against her with her left arm, while she put the other woman through some moves using her right arm and feet to improve the fluidity of her actions while fighting. "See the difference?"

Due to their proximity, Emma felt more than heard the hum of agreement.

"Okay, now let's try to practise it." She unwound her arm from around the royal's stomach, signifying that Regina should step down, though neither was truly happy about adding distance to their previously very comfortable proximity.

"Like before, first touch wins."

Their swords clashed as they practically danced around each other, both advancing in calculated moves, keeping their eyes trained not only on each other, but on the sword the other was holding. Emma couldn't help but grin as she saw the content smile breaking across the royal's face.

She'd forever say that she had let the other woman win, and that it certainly wasn't being distracted by the brunette's beauty, when the sword the royal held managed to make a scratch down her left arm as Emma fell for a feint.

"Impressed now?" Regina asked with a smirk.

"Indeed," the thief said, grinning at her. She put her sword away, as well as the Queen's sword back in the scabbard on her hip, and went to look at the wound. It was superficial and would heal in a few days probably. There was probably some healing balm stuffed somewhere in Ban's saddle bag that she could rifle through tomorrow.

"Thank you."

The thief gave a small bow. "You're very welcome."

She saw that the royal bit her lip a bit, glancing at the wound. The usually confident and collected Queen was clearly nervously mulling over something, so Emma decided that she would try to help by prompting, "Are you alright, your Highness?"

"Hmm?" the royal hummed, looking up at the hooded figure. "I was just wondering if you'd let me...heal you."

Emma tilted her head inquisitively. "You'd do that for me?"

"Yes."

She held out her left arm closer to the royal. "Thank you."

"Well I hurt you, it's only fair I heal you."

Right then, Emma was trying to see where the whole Evil Queen persona fit in to this. Except perhaps for the first few minutes when she had shown up, she hadn't seen this supposed Evil Queen that everyone feared and her mother spoke terrors of. She was a bit guarded, but then again, so was Emma. The royal hadn't even seen her face and despite her status as a thief, still trusted her to not pull one over her. Or at the very least, gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"There, all done." While Emma had been musing, her wound had been healed. The skin around there was still a bit red, but as she touched it, it felt smooth and there was no sting of pain.

"Thank you once more. I should probably take my leave. Would her Highness object to me showing up again?"

Regina smirked. "Depends, would your ego be able to take another defeat at my hands?"

The thief gave a bark of laughter. "One lucky shot in and you already believe yourself a master at this."

"I believe it was much more than just a lucky shot, thief."

"Whatever you wish to believe, your Highness." Emma then decided to throw caution into the wind and quickly went to kiss the royal on the cheek. "Have a good night."

Regina was left stunned in the middle of her courtyard, watching as a green-clad thief expertly shot an arrow onto one of the walls surrounding the garden, and climb to the top before dropping down and disappearing into the night.

* * *

The next time Emma was near the Dark Kingdom, was eight days after her last encounter at the Queen's garden.

She had finally lost the tail of guards from Lord Vincent's Estate, and Ban was properly worn out. They were both sporting some injuries from the couple of arrows that whizzed past them as they missed their mark, adding to their exhaustion. It was still light out so Emma just jumped down from her horse and kept her hooded head down as she went with Ban through the village, towards the Lupine Night Inn. It was busy enough that no one spared her a second glance, plus it was common to see travelers that kept to themselves without showing their faces.

As they passed through the market, Ban nudged her as they passed by a vendor selling apples.

"Needy aren't you?" Emma grumbled, turning to the stall.

"Are you alright?"

Emma looked up and saw a young woman with auburn hair looking relatively surprised at seeing that her new customer was hurt. "Yeah just fine, how much for an apple? This guy here seems to have got his eyes on them."

The woman chuckled at this, seeing Emma point to her horse, who snorted in response.

"One silver coin."

She fished out 2 silver coins from her pouch and handed them to the woman, flashing a smile. "Two coins for two apples then. Thank you very much."

Emma grabbed the two reddest apples she could find and handed one out to her horse, who took a hearty bite out of it. "Oh come on, at least leave my hand, you goof."

She turned back at seeing the shopkeeper snort in laughter, hiding it behind her hand.

Giving another smile, she said, "Can you believe this guy? You'd think I didn't feed him."

Bandit seemed to have other ideas and wasn't interested in chit-chat, so with his head, he tried to nudge Emma along.

"And he's pushy too. Thank you once more for the apples!"

* * *

"You know your mother would have an attack if she saw you eating an apple, right?" Red asked, putting down a plate on the table where Emma sat, putting salve on her arms.

"I think she'd have a bigger attack seeing these wounds."

"True, you need to be more careful Emma."

She glared at the woman with a bored look. "Honestly? You're going to do the mother thing in her honour right now?"

"Well I am your aunt," Red smirked as she responded.

Emma, by way of responding, took another bite of her apple. After a few seconds, she said, "Yeah and I'm currently in my undershirt in the Inn's unused stable trying to do a damage assessment, so I think I'm a little beyond caring right about now."

The stable was actually quite roomy, it had space for a few horses and spacious rooms with comfy beds that were exclusively available for Storybrooke's residents. It was also beneficiary for Granny and Red, since they didn't need to have any written record of having lodged outlaws by keeping them in what was officially considered a storage area.

And indeed there were supplies scattered all over, along with boxes and crates with fresh ingredients needed for food stored there. Red continued watching as the blonde finished putting the ointment on her skin, and then sunk onto the chair that had her signature green jacket draped over it. Resting on the table were her quiver with arrows, her belt with pouches, as well as her trusty bow and sword.

"How is Ban?"

"He's fine, being a bit melodramatic over the wounds, but I put some of the salve on him and he's resting now. I gave him one of the apples so he's got some food on him until dinner comes."

Red grinned and nodded. "Alright, dinner will be served in an hour or so. Meanwhile, these sweet buns should tide you over."

Emma waved it off with a swift thanks, reaching for the jacket and pulling it in front of her. "No worries, I'll just be here patching this jacket up. It got a bit torn up in the escape."

The brunette waitress just shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully.

* * *

By the time Emma was done with her dinner and had returned the plate to Red, night had fallen, she quickly donned her jacket and pulled up her hood, fastening her weapons on her back. She also made sure to grab the extra sword from Ban's saddle bags.

She made the exact same process as the last time, and once she came to stand at the open doors, she noted that the Queen was certainly not having a good day.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked, smirking as she saw that the royal had been furiously pacing.

"No, some sword-fighting will do me some good." Without so much as a proper greeting, the brunette stalked over to the door, the smoke engulfing her momentarily as she walked, changing her clothes from the intricate dress she had been wearing to a similar outfit as the last time they had practised. Once she was standing in front of Emma, the other woman practically ripped the sword out of the scabbard by her waist, and pushed past the thief, going towards the courtyard beneath the apple tree without even glancing back to see if Emma would follow.

Emma blinked and then trailed after the clearly angry woman. To be honest, she was still exhausted from her escape from Lord Vincent and his men. But she still pulled out her own sword and faced the other woman. She couldn't help but dread that this was a terrible idea.

And by the first five minutes, Emma could see proof of why this was a bad idea. The Queen was lashing out, using the sword as an extension of her anger, blindly swiping at Emma as though she were the cause of her problems - or at least, Emma hoped she wasn't the cause of the problems.

"Stop," Emma calmly stated, blocking another jab with the clanking of metal.

Nothing. The royal hadn't said a word after taking the sword, and she saw that the lanterns that lit up courtyard were burning ferociously, a mirror to what the woman must be feeling.

Deciding to take a more direct approach, Emma sheathed her sword, and as the Queen went to attack once more, Emma grabbed the blade of the other sword, and gripped it tight, thankful that her leather gloves were resistant enough that the metal wouldn't cut through.

After a few seconds of struggling, trying to release the weapon from the thief's grip, Regina finally turned to look at the hooded woman, a relatively wild look in her eyes.

"Stop," Emma repeated, stepping closer, still keeping a tight grip on the sword.

"Why?" Regina ground out, chest heaving from the exertion.

"Because this is not proper sword-fighting, this is just whacking away like a mad-woman, and you'll not achieve anything apart from exhausting yourself."

"Maybe I do not wish to fight properly tonight and just forget."

By now, they were standing mere centimetres apart, the sword vertical, being held between them. "What's wrong?" she softly asked.

Regina scoffed. "And why do you care, thief? I believed your purpose was to steal, not listen to a Queen's problems."

"You know, when I'm not donning this hood, I spend my time living as a human being, whose function - among many others - is to care of others and show compassion. Or if you're not up for sharing, I've heard I give some great hugs."

She gave the smallest snorts of amusement. What were the chances that a mysterious thief would be the one to get her to smile. She had spent the entire day just ignoring or outright figuratively barking at anyone to leave her be, and now here she was, seriously considering the offer for a hug.

"It's fine. It has just been a stressful day. Perhaps we should just call it a day."

Emma felt the sword go back in its scabbard, but kept her eyes on the Queen the entire time. As the brunette lowered her head and started to walk off, Emma decided that she would risk the consequences.

She turned around. Reaching out, she grasped the Queen's wrist, and lightly pulled her back towards her. There came a muffled cry of confusion as the royal's palms made contact with her chest, but Emma just wrapped her arms around the other woman, pulling her closer, engulfing her in a hug.

After a few seconds, she grinned as the royal relaxed in the embrace. She could've sworn she heard a quiet "thank you" murmured onto her chest, but to ask for clarification would mean ending the moment, and Emma wanted to experience this for a little bit longer.

Regina meanwhile, was stunned into silence, and hoped that her brief and quiet murmur of thanks wasn't heard. She felt safe here. Sure she had allies, people that she could consider friends, but they weren't around all the time, and although this was only the third time interacting with the thief, something about her just made it easy to trust her. Maybe that was her gimmick. Trustworthy, outgoing personality, easy to talk to, and then next thing they knew, they were robbed blind.

Telling herself that she needed to keep her distance, Regina pushed herself away from the embrace, and glanced up at the hooded figure. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you."

Beneath the hood, Regina could see the thief's genuine grin, before she responded, "You're welcome. You looked like you needed a hug."

Regina sighed, "I should probably head back to my room."

"I will accompany you to your door."

The royal gave small smirk. "Afraid someone will try to attack me in my private gardens?"

Emma shrugged, "You can never be too careful, after all, I managed to get in here just fine."

The brunette rolled her eyes playfully. "My hero."

They walked side by side towards the Queen's room. Once there, Emma gave the royal a quick peck on the cheek, and once more ran off over the wall and into the village.

* * *

Emma had been sitting at the dinner table, while her mother was finishing preparing dinner. Although Emma had her own cabin, she still graced her parents every night that she was in the village by visiting them for dinner. It was the little things that kept them as a family, however dysfunctional it may be that a 28-year old woman had parents that were 2 years older than she was.

"You've been very pensive today, is everything alright?" her father asked.

"Yeah, I've just been wondering...why not visit the Dark Kingdom and try to help the people?"

From the looks on her parents' faces, it was clear that it wasn't the first time Emma had suggested this. She'd been suggesting it even before she met the Queen.

"You know why Emma. If the Evil Queen finds out..." Snow began to explain.

"Look, I'm not saying we go in there to rob. Just to help them. We have a surplus of money that we could definitely use to help the people in that Kingdom, because when I was there yesterday, there were so many people that I wanted to help, and isn't that our motto? To help those who need it? Or one of them at least? We shouldn't let her intimidate us."

David and Snow felt a surge of pride, their girl was so smart, even if they had missed getting to teach her.

"Very well," Snow acquiesced. "You can get a team ready as our circus troupe, make a show and all that. Though you first need to get the Queen's approval with a letter of permission."

"Sounds good, I'll go tomorrow."

"You're not planning on going to give her a letter personally?!" David asked, eyes widening in shock.

Emma leveled them with a glare. "Seriously? I know better than that, I meant that I would drop it off at the Dark Kingdom's post office is all."

* * *

She actually was going to drop it off personally, just for the heck of it. Getting to see the gorgeous brunette was a bonus. Not to mention that Emma had been worried about the royal's attitude from yesterday, and wanted to check up on her.

"Either those papers did something to you, or you're thinking way too hard." As was customary, Emma greeted the royal from her spot in the doorway, never actually entering the room.

Regina whipped around at the familiar voice, letting the smallest of smiles grace her face before she stood up and made her way closer to where the thief stood. "It's just been a long day today."

"And it's not even evening yet. Must be one hell of a day you've had."

"The life of a Queen is not a simple one."

"Figured as much," Emma smirked, casually leaning against the doorway. She cleared her throat, not knowing how to tackle the subject. "I actually wanted to ask you a favour..."

Regina looked over at the green-clad thief, noting that this time, she had only come over with one sword. So this was purely a business visit. Requests were asked of the Queen during court, and deliberated within the following days. Coming here to personally ask for a favour usually meant that either the request was unusual or very personal; or the thief was banking on using her 'connection' to the Queen to see if her request could be dealt with swiftly. For both their sakes, Regina hoped that it was the former. A few sword-fighting lessons did not make them friends or worthy of favours.

Though she  _did_  save your life, her mind riposted. But she ignored it as she quirked her head inquiringly. "Oh really? And what could you possibly ask of me?"

"It's a letter of request...for the circus to visit the Dark Kingdom," Emma explained, holding out an envelope with the letter inside it.

"The circus? And what could you possibly have to do with a circus?" Regina tried to keep her anger down, not moving to take the letter being held out to her. Was this really all she was useful for?

"Well...I'm part of it," Emma said after a few seconds of deliberation.

"Oh really? And pray tell, thief, are you not aware that there is an order as to how you go about asking for favours from the Queen?"

Emma gave the slightest of flinches at the tone before putting her hands up in a placating gesture, letter still being held in her right one. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I was technically supposed to mail this to the post office and let it reach through the normal channels, but I wanted to see you."

"Y-you did?" Regina asked, the slightest tremors to her voice.

The thief nodded. "Yeah, you had me a bit worried from yesterday, so I thought, why the hell not, I'll drop this off and get to see you. And then when I go to the post office to pick up the response in a few days, I'll visit you again."

Regina's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Wait, you're not here to get an answer  _now_?"

"What? Oh gods no! I just wanted to spare myself the trouble dealing with the postal service attendant, who I've heard can be quite difficult to work with. Did you think that I was?"

The brunette murmured, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to."

Emma put the letter away, and dared to step inside, walking over to put her hands on the Queen's upper arms. "Hey, I'm not here to take advantage of you, okay? I just wanted to drop it off and see if you were okay. Maybe do some stress-relief with swords if you're up for it..."

The Queen looked up at her and smirked, "And with what sword do you propose I do that?"

Emma instantly blanched, realizing that she hadn't brought an extra sword. "Shit..." She gave a sheepish smile and said, "How would you like to learn how to shoot a bow?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're slowly trying to train me into joining your merry band of outlaws."

"Well, there goes my plans, foiled," the thief smirked. "I'd probably just ask you if you wanted to join."

It was then that Emma first heard a truly wondrous sound, and that was the Queen's laugh.

"So what do you say, are bow and arrows too much for you?"

"Just like the sword was? Admit it, you didn't want to face defeat at my hands again," Regina haughtily responded.

"One lucky shot..." the thief groaned.

Before they could say anything else, a knock was heard at the door.

Regina gave a loud sigh before yelling towards the door, "Just a minute!"

"Well I suppose that is my cue to leave. So I'll leave this here for you," - she put the envelope at the table already filled with papers - "and I'll come back to pick it up in a few days and check up on you okay?" As had become customary, Emma gave the brunette a quick peck on the cheek, and left.

Regina wheeled around and walked over to the door, intending to give whoever was at the door a piece of her mind. She wrenched the door open and glared at her advisor standing in front of her door. "What?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Vincent is requesting your help in dealing with a pest," Sidney Glass said after bowing low.

She rolled her eyes. "And what does the pompous Lord require this time?"

"The Shadow Thief has apparently been stealing from his estate for months, your Majesty. He is requesting for more guards to be sent over."

"Who is this 'Shadow Thief'? Why is this the first time I've heard of them, or of these robberies?"

Sidney cleared his throat, "Well, your Majesty, no one really knows who the thief is. All they know is that the thief wears dark green, and only targets the rich and powerful. Rumours also go that they get the stolen money and hand it out to the needy and other peasants. So far they've managed to avoid capture, and their exploits have generally been outside your kingdom. But Lord Vincent believes that he can ask for your help in this."

Regina pursed her lips. Of course he would think that. This was the kind of attitude she was used to. People trying to use their relations with her for favours. "Tell Lord Vincent that should he require help, he can do so during court, and that I shall consider his request then. I do not grant favours Sidney, as you should know by now. If that is all?"

"Yes your Majesty, my apologies for disturbing you."

Once the door closed, Regina set to wonder. She opened the envelope the thief had dropped off, and stared at the letter, requesting for the Enchanting Circus to come visit for 5 days. Oh this would be very interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! This was a long chapter, but I felt that it was necessary, plus building their relationship visit by visit.
> 
> They just need to kiss, don't you think?
> 
> So what do you think of 'Lupine Night', 'Enchanting Circus' and 'Shadow Thief'? Too corny and cheesy?
> 
> Next up, the circus comes to the Dark Kingdom!
> 
> Will Regina visit? Who knows...
> 
> Anyway! Next up, I leave to you with a show of hands/reviews: who wants a double update for this fic?
> 
> Just as a note 'cause I've been doing it for all my fics, I'm planning for this to be a relatively long-ish fic, 30 chapters give or take.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and letting me know what you think makes me a very happy author!


	5. Like-Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo double update! And another long chapter! Not as long as the previous one, but it's more than 4,000 words!
> 
> Lucky you!
> 
> Not much else to say, so let's get right to it!

3 days later, Emma left the post office and quickly opened the letter, wanting to see what it said. Seeing the approval in front of her, she didn't fight the bright grin that appeared on her face. She tucked the letter away and made her way towards the castle, hoping to speak to the Queen.

Once she arrived at the private palace garden, she saw that the room was empty. It  _was_  the middle of the day, so she supposed the royal had plenty of things to do, and would most definitely not spend her entire time holed up in her room. But Emma was in no hurry, she'd wait by the fireplace until the Queen returned, and hope that she wasn't overstepping boundaries.

Before Emma had taken more than a couple of steps inside, she saw purple smoke to her left, and her instincts kicked in as she quickly grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow, ready to shoot whoever it was. As the smoke dissolved, the thief saw the Queen standing there, the latter's anger slowly dissipating as she saw who it was that had supposedly broken into her room.

"I do hope you're not planning on shooting that arrow, thief," Regina smirked.

Emma shook out of her reverie and lowered her bow, putting the arrow away. "Sorry about that, you startled me."

"Which is the point. You stepped over the enchantment that notifies me if anyone tries to break into my room, so I quickly came here to see who was the fool that thought this was a good idea."

The thief gave a sheepish smile. "My apologies. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."

Regina hummed, smirk growing wider. "Oh you certainly did, but it was a boring meeting anyway, so I'm glad for the reprieve. Though I am curious as to what you are doing here?"

She fished out the letter and held it up with a grin. "I wanted to thank you for approving the circus."

"Ah yes, the circus. I never got to ask you when we last talked, but what does a  _thief_  do in a circus?"

"Well, plenty of things..." Emma said, thinking of keeping it vague, putting the letter away once more, trying to stall. She leaned against the wall behind her and tried to appear nonchalant.

"I see. And pray tell, this 'circus' wouldn't be a cover for your notorious gang of thieves to rob me and this kingdom's affluent citizens blind and then distribute the loot throughout the Enchanted Forest, now would it?"

From the little Regina saw of the thief's face, she had blanched, mouth gaping, and she was sure that if she could see them, her eyes would be wide open.

"No! Well, I mean, yes it  _usually_  is, but I give you my word, we... _I_  won't rob you...and I promise that no one in my troupe will either." Emma responded, flustered.

"Oh really? And what did I do to deserve such a special treatment from the  _Shadow Thief_? From what my sources tell me, you rob the rich and powerful, and as I understand it, I fit that description perfectly." Adding an extra sashaying of her hips, Regina walked towards the thief until they were mere inches apart, and looked up into the darkness of the hood that hid the upper half of the thief's face perfectly. "Well?"

"I uhm, I just...we've been having a good run, gotten a lot of extra income, and although we've generally stayed away from your kingdom, your citizens still need help, so we thought we'd pitch in."

"I see, and why have your people kept away? Is everyone afraid of the Evil Queen?" she asked, a playful glint to her eyes.

Emma looked away, and responded, "Yeah, my parents are cautious and wanted nothing to do with this kingdom, but being here for the past few weeks reminded me that these people would benefit from our help."

The Queen gave a hum of agreement. "Indeed, and there's only so much I can do when people are afraid to accept anything I have to offer because they fear the Evil Queen will do some unspeakable act in retribution should they fall into what they believe, is a trap."

"Hey, you're more than just the Evil Queen. I mean come on, you're actually willing to help your people. Other kingdoms won't even give their less fortunate citizens the time of day."

Regina smiled at the compliment, and then it morphed into a smirk as she once more posed the question, "But you still haven't told me, what did I do to deserve this special treatment?"

The thief cleared her throat, trying to look anywhere but at the figure inches away from her. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you know very well thief. But allow me to enlighten you just in case: you saved my life, escorted me out of the Enchanted Forest, taught me the basics of sword-fighting, and you've been practically visiting me weekly. Such is probably not common for a thief, or does everyone in your merry band of thieves have someone they trail after like you do me?"

Emma spluttered for a second, before finding her voice again. "I do not trail after you!"

"You keep telling yourself that, thief. So? Am I going to receive an answer sometime soon?"

"I...I want you to trust me," Emma responded.

"And you not robbing me is a testament of that supposed trust?"

"Somewhat, I'm just trying to show I'm more than just a thief, and it's not every day where a royal doesn't just go after my ass and want to lock me up for life." It definitely wasn't the entire reason. But Emma couldn't just say that she was falling for the royal and then not expect to have her head chopped off right there and then, right?

Regina let out a chuckle. If anything, the thief was at least charming. "Well, perhaps if you give me a name and lower that hood, I might be more inclined to think of you as more than just a thief."

"But I have a secret identity to keep!" the thief pouted.

"Oh I'm certain you do. But why keep the mystery? We can skip around this whole dodging and mysterious allure."

"Well, perhaps, if you come visit me at the circus, you'll be able to find out." Emma punctuated that with a kiss to the Queen's cheek.

Although Emma's plan was to leave the royal stunned after the kiss on the cheek, making her getaway, it seemed that this time, the Queen was well prepared, and placed both her hands on the wall on either side of Emma's face, trapping her between her arms. "Oh no you don't."

The thief gave the smallest of gulps and gave a sheepish smile, having nowhere to go. "Not a fan of the cheek kisses I'm guessing?"

"That's where you're wrong, thief, but I'm curious as to why. Queens don't usually receive such...personal signs of affection, especially not from thieves who break in to their gardens on a weekly basis."

"Perhaps, but since I've yet to be arrested for said acts, I will continue to do so."

"But why?"

"For that, you'll have to come to the circus."

Regina sighed, rolling her eyes. "You really want me to go, don't you?"

The thief nodded fervently. "I do."

"Well I suppose we'll have to see then." In a twisting turn of events, Emma was shocked as lips were gently pressed onto hers in a kiss. It was a quick peck, but it left the thief flustered and giddy.

"I will hope to see you in a few days then, your Highness."

* * *

Emma was riding in the caravan with the other members of the troupe, still not over the small kiss she had shared with the Queen a few days ago. Was it possible that the royal liked her too? It was too much to hope...and what would happen once she found out who Emma was, who her parents were?

One thing she hadn't thought about was: how would the Queen be able to visit her at the circus? It wasn't as if she could just waltz down the village to visit, and even if she did, she'd probably be flanked by guards, which meant that there was no way they'd be able to have a moment together.

And if Red saw her, well, that would lead to double her problems.

"So, ready for this?" Elizabeth asked, plopping down beside her.

"Yeah, we've done this countless times before, why wouldn't I be?" Emma shrugged, but she could imagine what the reason was.

"Because we're going to the Dark Kingdom? Home of the one and only 'Evil Queen'? Name ring any bells?"

"Yeah I know, but we'll hopefully not get her attention, after all, helping people by giving them money isn't a crime as far as I'm aware."

"Knowing her, it might be," Elizabeth chuckled, getting Emma to grin at her.

It was evening by the time they arrived to their assigned village grounds within the Dark Kingdom. It was perfect, and together, they decided that they'd wait until tomorrow to set up. Now, all nine members of the troupe were dead tired, and Emma quickly fell asleep on her bunk.

* * *

"Ah, but the dragon would not go down without a fight!" Emma exclaimed, crouching low as she grinned at the row of children raptly listening to her tale.

As the troupe worked on setting themselves up, a few curious spectators had approached them, children and adults alike, wanting to see what was going on. With that, Emma had donned her Colombina mask, and began telling the riveting tale of the knight and the dragon - somewhat loosely based on the tale her father had told of his own experience battling a dragon in his time - entertaining their impromptu guests while the rest of the troupe finished setting up.

By now she had captivated her audience, getting to the good part. She stood, up, discreetly reached into her back pouch, grabbing a fistful of the special sand, and held her fist out, close to her face with the palm up.

"Then, with a ferocious breath of fire, the dragon pounced!" Emma blew onto her fist, getting the sand to light up and create a stream of fire. She slowly opened her fist, making sure that all the sand flew out and burned, before continuing, "The knight though, was not scared, for he raised his shield high in the air to protect himself from the fire, and charged at the dragon! With a slash of his sword-"

"Peter! There you are!" Emma paused as a harried woman, dressed impeccably, made her way to the front, disturbing the small crowd, and grabbed a young boy by the scruff of his shirt, who had been sitting and listening to Emma, dressed in a similarly state of of attire. "What are you doing here? You know these people will rob you blind don't you?"

"But mother, the story was getting to a good part!" Peter cried out in anguish.

"That's the point! You see, these ruffians and traveling circuses are here to  _rob_  people! They enchant you to fall for their traps and then rob you blind!" Although the crowd was barely more than a dozen in size, consisting of an equal mix of adults and children; a few of them, having heard the woman's exclamations, quickly ran off, patting their pockets and checking their valuables.

Emma was fuming, fists tightly clenched, jaw hard. "Well,  _lady_ , if you were to be a bit more open minded, you'd see that I was just trying to keep people entertained, which is my job, not to pull one over your son or any of the other fine people who were listening to a tale you interrupted."

The lady gave a haughty laugh that made Emma's blood boil. This woman revelled in putting people beneath her down, she could just tell. And Emma was smack in that category. "Oh please, don't try to play the innocent card, girl. I know your type...Peter dear, please cover your ears" - the boy did just that and the woman continued - "you'll only ever be scum and if you think for a second that I don't see right through your ruse, you are an even more pathetic bitch than I can imagine."

This was not news for Emma, she had heard worse, specially yelled at her as she ran off with guards running after her, shooting arrows and other projectiles at her. It still stung, but she just steeled herself, not wanting to give the lady the satisfaction of thinking she got to her.

"Perhaps," a voice spoke out from the small remaining crowd of stragglers, "if you let go of your prejudices and learned to get your head out of your ass, Lady Smith, you might one day actually enjoy such a simple and entertaining event."

Lady Smith turned to face the woman who had spoken, and sneered at seeing a brunette in what she considered peasant clothes. "And who do you think you are to speak to me that way girl? Who do you work for?"

"I work at the palace, you're more than welcome to let the Queen know what I have said if it bothers you." Emma met the girl's and gaze gave her a thankful smile, glad to see someone was standing up to this entitled woman, and swore she saw her wink in response.

"Oh I certainly shall." The lady grabbed her son by the arm - the poor boy still had his ears covered - and dragged him off.

Emma took a deep breath and let it out, before saying, "Sorry folks, that will be all for now."

There were some groans of disappointment as the crowd dispersed.

"Hey Thea! I need some help here." While they were out in their troupes, and handing out money, they took up alternate identities to keep themselves safe. So for now, Emma was Thea, and she turned to the voice, seeing Thomas asking for help. She tried to find the other woman, hoping to convey a 'thank you' silently and quickly, but couldn't find her, so she went to help Thomas with whatever setting up he needed with.

She had a feeling she'd be seeing the other woman again.

* * *

As she finished tying off the tent onto the peg in the ground, Emma looked up once she saw the hem of a dress stop by her feet.

"Do I not get a thank you?"

Emma saw the woman from before, standing there with a smirk. She shot up with a grin and said, "Yes! I'm so sorry, I had to help the troupe to set up, I was hoping I might get a chance to run into you again. But yes, thank you for standing up for me, I hope you don't get in trouble for it."

"Oh don't worry about me, Lady Smith is just a pompous woman with a head full of air."

"Yes I can clearly tell, and arrogance too," Emma responded, getting the other woman to let out a laugh.

"She is very much arrogant."

Emma quickly checked to make sure no one would need her immediate help, and then asked, "Would you like to walk around for a bit?"

"I'd love to."

"Great!" Emma grinned, slipping the mask away from her face, and tucked it into a pocket in her britches. She held out her arm for the other woman to take, and asked, "Shall we?"

* * *

They had been walking in a comfortable silence, when the other woman asked, "Do you often get people treating you like this?"

"Yeah, it's usually worse, sometimes we've even been chased out of a village," Emma responded with a shrug. "So, you work at the palace?"

"Yes, I said as much."

"Hmm, I know." Truth was, Emma was starting to guess who exactly was accompanying her.

"Then asking me again is because...?" the other woman queried.

"I know someone else at the palace, I was wondering if you knew her."

"Perhaps, what is her name?"

"I actually don't know..."

The other woman frowned then asked, "What is she like?"

Emma grinned, and then said, "Well, she's a brunette like you, with these wonderful brown eyes, unafraid to speak her mind, gorgeous, she can have quite a temper, but she is actually quite adorable sometimes, and," - she stopped walking, getting the other woman to stop too, and as they unlinked their arms and faced each other, Emma continued with a smirk - "she is pretty good at sword-fighting, do you know her?"

The other woman's expression resembled that of a perplexed deer, and Emma knew she had been right.

Before anyone could say anything else, Emma felt someone tugging on her shirt. She turned, and saw a little girl looking up at her with wide eyes. "Hi! And who are you?"

"I'm Amelia! I wanted to say thank you for your help. Mommy bought me a doll with the money you gave us," the girl gave a toothy smile, and both women's hearts melted at the sight.

Emma picked up the little girl with a whoop, and said, "Well you're very welcome! What did you name your doll?"

"Nina!" the girl responded enthusiastically. "She's my new friend!"

"Well that's good! Friends are always important to have."

"Is she your friend?" Amelia asked, pointing to Emma's companion.

"I'd like to hope so, but you want to know something?" Emma asked the last part in a fake-conspiratorial whisper, certain the other woman could hear her.

Amelia nodded enthusiastically, leaning closer to listen.

"I actually like  _like_  her."

The little girl then looked at Emma as though she had just been given the greatest secret on earth.

"Do you think she likes me back?" Emma asked the little girl.

Amelia silently turned to study the other woman, tilting her head inquisitively as she pondered. Emma met the other woman's look - which bordered between amusement and confusion - and winked.

"Yep, I think so," was Amelia's verdict.

"Amelia? Where are you?"

"Here mama!" Amelia yelled back, waving at her mother.

"Oh there you are! And I see you managed to find just who I was looking for! Now why don't you go find your father and brother?"

"Sure thing mama!" Emma let little Amelia down, who grinned up at the two women. "It was nice to meet you!"

"It was nice to meet you too, Amelia," the brunette responded.

To Emma, Amelia said, "Good luck!"

The blonde let out a laugh as she nodded, before turning to Amelia's mother. "Your daughter is wonderful."

"Oh I know, she's so enthusiastic. I actually wanted to thank you once again, I haven't seen Amelia and Ben so happy in a long time, and your help..." The older woman was bordering on full out crying by that point.

"Hey, it's alright, it's what we're here for," Emma reassured her, before getting engulfed in a hug.

"But still, bless you."

Emma was left dazed by the time the compliments were finished - mostly because Amelia's mother had to get back to her family - and she turned to look at the brunette with a smile. "Sorry about that, where were we?"

"Well, I believe you were asking me about someone in the palace, and how you like  _like_  me," she responded with a smirk, dragging Emma off to the side so they were no longer in the middle of the path.

"Oh right, so tackling things by order, do you mind giving me a name for her?"

"Well, assuming we're thinking about the same person, there's this spinster by the name of Rebecca, who I've heard can be quite temperamental..."

"Oh come on," Emma pouted, seeing the brunette lean against a wall with a smirk. "Please?"

"Very well, very well. Regina."

Emma walked towards the brunette, coming to stand similarly to how they were a few days ago, but with flipped positions. "Well, very pleased to meet you, Regina."

As their lips met in a kiss, Regina wrapped her arms around the back of the thief's neck, pulling the blonde closer to her as their kiss deepened, their tongues meeting and caressing.

It was only when Regina heard herself moan that she decided that right now was not the time to practically make out in the middle of a village. Breaking apart, she felt her face flush.

"Hi," Emma said softly.

"Hey." Regina replied with a smile. "So, Thea, hmm?"

"Emma."

"Huh?"

"Thea's actually a stage name. Emma is my actual name."

Regina playfully smacking the blonde's arm. "Seriously? And you were adamant about knowing  _my_  name."

"Well you didn't ask," Emma replied, shrugging.

"Ah of course, gods forbid that you voluntarily part the information."

"Technically I did," Emma grinned as she responded.

Regina rolled her eyes, getting the thief to peck her on the lips.

"You know, I never would've expected the disguise. Is it a potion or..."

"Magic," Regina muttered in response, not wanting to be too loud in case anyone was listening. It wasn't that magic was outlawed, but it was rare enough that if she mentioned it, most people would be able to put together the conclusion that the Queen was right there.

"Ah, I see. It's a very good one."

"I've had my practise with it. If you will let me, I can cast an enchantment that will let you see me through the glamour."

"Very well, if you don't mind." Emma positioned herself to block Regina from view, her hands resting on the stone wall on either side of the royal.

With a small flick of the fingers, Emma saw a few sparkles of purple fly into her eyes, causing her to blink. The next thing she knew, she was seeing the real Regina, and she smiled widely, letting their lips connect once more.

Once they broke apart, Emma murmured, "Thanks."

"Of course. So,  _Emma_ , let us backtrack a bit. What was it that you told Amelia, about liking me?"

"Oh you know," the blonde said, letting her hands rest on Regina's hips, smiling deviously. "You're a good  _friend_ , despite the whole intimidating moniker."

"I see. And what happens when you  _double_  the amount of 'like's in the description?"

"Well, then I'd be inclined to say I might be falling head over heels for a certain someone that rules a certain kingdom."

Regina let out a small giggle and bit her lower lip.

"How about you?"

"What about me?" Regina responded with a knowing smirk.

"Single like or double like?"

"Hmm, double."

"Oh really? And for you what does it entail regarding me?"

"Well, it means that I've fallen for a charismatic thief with a penchant for helping others, even if it is teaching me how to use a sword."

Emma let out a laugh and proceeded to kiss Regina once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was this chapter! Plenty of fluff, plenty of happiness.
> 
> And now Regina and Emma have truly 'met'! No titles, no hoods, no masks, nada.
> 
> Now, since the holidays are coming up, as a big THANK YOU to everyone that reads and supports these stories, I'm going to try and write 2 more chapters of all my fics before the end of the year, I hope I can meet that quota for this fic!
> 
> So now the next fics will be the Kissing Booth and then Such a Heavenly View! I'll be uploading both fics on here as i get around to updating them!
> 
> I love reading all of your reviews, so let me know what you think!


	6. Performances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And back once more with this story! This had been planned to be posted earlier, but with all the writing I had been doing, I was kinda running on fumes.
> 
> So our wonderful ladies are finally out in the open about one another...for the most part.
> 
> More fluff and happiness awaits! As well as hijinks and whatnot.
> 
> Enjoy!

Emma and Regina had been amiably walking around the village for most of the day, holding hands and asking questions, finding out little facts and tidbits about the other.

Suddenly, both their blood ran cold, but for different reasons.

"So  _Thea!_  You didn't tell me you were seeing someone?" Red had crept up behind them, and she made herself known to both women by slipping a hand on one of their opposite shoulders, trying to squeeze herself in the middle.

Emma gulped and flashed a nervous smile. "Hey Red! I uhm, was waiting for the right moment to tell you...surprise!" she finished lamely.

Regina meanwhile was stiff as a rod and trying to keep her wits about her. This was Snow's friend, at least at the time, she had been. Of course she knew that the wolf and her grandmother had taken up lodging in her kingdom, probably to spy on her. She also wasn't surprised that Emma and Red could be friends. After all, the Inn that the Lucases owned welcomed all sorts of peculiar customers. A thief wouldn't be anything new.

"I see. I'm  _definitely_  surprised." Red whiffed the air, and she thought she caught a vestige of a familiar scent, but it was gone the next second and she shrugged it off.

Regina hoped that the quick glamour she cast to hide her scent from Red would work. She didn't think the wolf would be too happy to see her friend together the Evil Queen.

Emma flashed the royal an apologetic smile, and then lightly smacked Red. "Yeah yeah, now can you let us be? We wanted to walk around for a bit before I have to go prepare for tonight's show."

"Alright, I'm going," Red said with a smirk, holding her hands up in surrender and starting to head back to the Inn, but not before saying, "You'll have a lot of explaining and answering to do later!"

Once Red had left, Emma said, "I'm sorry about her, she means well, but she can be a little bit...much."

Regina waved it off, speaking for the first time since Red had showed up. "It's fine, you're lucky to have a friend who cares so much for you."

Emma hummed, before asking, "You don't have friends?"

"A few, but I don't get to speak to them often," Regina responded with a shrug.

They walked in silence for a bit before Emma sighed, and started walking them back to the grounds where the circus had set up. "Come on, I wasn't kidding about needing to go get ready."

Regina let out a chuckle, and followed the thief.

"Are you going to be watching tonight's show?" Emma asked as they approached their destination.

"Wouldn't miss it." Regina leaned in to give Emma a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

And she didn't miss it. The performance was spectacular. She watched, captivated, as the troupe performed incredible feats, it made Regina wonder if some of the members of the troupe had magic. Especially Emma. The woman moved with a fluidity that made Regina gape. When she breathed fire, she had to remind herself that it was just a trick, but it was still impressive.

When the show ended, Regina wished she could have stayed, but she knew her guard would begin to get antsy if she wasn't in her room by the appointed security time check. It was tedious, but necessary. For her own safety, and to respect their schedule. She was swept outside with the crowd of spectators before she could try and wish Emma goodnight. Perhaps she could visit tomorrow sometime, despite her busy schedule.

* * *

Once Emma was finished cleaning up after the show, she decided she'd surprise Regina. Even though they had spent most of the day together, she figured that she should visit the monarch now, as herself.

After everyone had left, heading to the Lupine Night Inn for a good drink to celebrate a wonderful first performance, Emma attached her quiver to her back, grabbed her bow, and made her way to the palace.

Regina had been lounging, reading a book in her settee, when she looked up and saw Emma, sans her usual green getup, standing by the doorway. "It seems you can't stay away," she said by way of greeting, a grin spilling onto her face.

"Can you blame me?" Emma asked, flashing a mischievous smirk of her own. "I just keep getting drawn to the place."

"Ah, are all the glittering jewels and gold calling to you?"

"Actually," Emma crossed the threshold, and made her way to the sofa, before adding, "there is some _one_  much more precious and lovelier than all that which draws my attention."

As their lips met in a passionate kiss, Regina couldn't help but smile at the compliment and flirtatious manner. Without breaking off their kiss, she sat up a bit and pulled Emma down to join her in the sofa so she wouldn't be leaning down so uncomfortably. Once they broke for air, they rested their foreheads against the other.

"Hey," Emma greeted breathlessly.

"Hello." They separated and made themselves more comfortable in the settee.

Emma bit her lip and then asked, "So what did you think of the show?"

Regina studied the woman in front of her. Could it be that Emma was nervous for her verdict? "It was brilliant. You and your group are very talented. Are you certain that none of you have magic?"

The thief nodded. "No one. We only have one guy in our village who has magic, and he's a bit of a coot. But you really liked it?"

"I did...did you think I wouldn't?" Regina asked, tilting her head a bit.

"I'm not sure...I mean, you're a Queen, you must've seen so much, and our act isn't exactly anything original or innovative..."

Regina leaned forward and gave Emma a kiss. "Nonsense. More often than not the attempts at innovation usually end in disaster. Something like your act was much more entertaining."

Emma grinned, and asked, "So does that mean you'll come tomorrow?"

The Queen let out a mournful sigh. "Alas this week is quite busy for me, I'll be in meetings in and out unfortunately. But," - she saw the beginnings of disenchantment in Emma's eyes and hastened to add - "I would like very much to see you tomorrow night though, if you aren't too busy to come over? I wouldn't want to take away from your troupe."

Emma's smile was radiant. "Not at all. I would love to."

* * *

Throughout the next day, the only thing that kept Regina going was Emma's eventual visit. Boring meetings were always taxing on her patience, and to think that she had a colourful troupe of enthusiastic circus members, as well as her lover, out in the city, made her yearn for a chance to go out. But the meetings were very important, so she couldn't very well miss any of them. They went on well into the day, and by the time night-time fell and the last meeting finished, she was very tired.

She opened the door to her bedroom, and smirked at seeing that Emma had just arrived, about to take a step inside.

"Stop," Regina commanded, holding out hand, palm facing forward.

Emma quite literally froze, one leg raised a bit and arms tensed. She panicked, thinking she'd done something wrong. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes dear, I just wish to do something." Regina's outstretched hand glowed purple for a moment, as did the enchantment by the garden doors. "There. Now you may enter and leave as you please without setting off my barrier alarm. Go on, you can enter," she added, seeing Emma still maintain her precarious posing outside the threshold. "It won't bite."

Emma tentatively passed her leg through the doorway, and let out a sigh once she saw that nothing happened.

Regina meanwhile let out a huff of playful frustration and rolled her eyes at her lover's antics. "Honestly, could you be any more melodramatic?"

"Yeah, I could. I could've pretended to keel over when I passed," Emma riposted.

"I'm courting a joker," Regina sighed, walking further into the room.

Emma exclaimed, "Hey! I'm right here!"

"I know you are," the Queen smirked, cupping Emma's face to kiss her.

They kissed for a few moments, Emma wrapping her arms around the brunette to shift them closer, little moans escaping every now and then.

After they separated, Emma hummed as she remembered something and made haste to take out the object of interest from one of her pouches. "Do you want to explain this?"

Regina looked at the proffered piece of paper without taking it, seeing that it had her royal insignia in the wax seal. "The invitation?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah...you want  _us_  to come perform for  _you_?"

"Me and my court, but yes, I do. Do you not want to?" Regina asked, tearing her eyes away from the paper to look at the blonde.

"No, yes, I mean no we don't mind, I just..." Emma let out a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts. "Why though? You've seen us perform..."

"In a way, but the Queen hasn't. Besides, a Queen's approval of a circus makes it all that more successful. Then you won't be ridiculed by the likes of Lady Smith anymore, for instance." It was well-known that to perform for the reigning royals in any kingdom was both a daunting prospect and one of the highest honours. If everything went well, the performers would receive the highest accolades. Should they fail...the shame would be too great, if the royals didn't decide to kill the performers, which Emma has heard happen with some particularly unpleasant and displeased monarchs.

When Emma didn't say anything, Regina gently caressed the thief's arms. "Hey," she gently said, getting Emma to look at her. "I'm sorry if this isn't something you wanted. It's just...when you told me that people often treated you like this, like how Lady Smith treated you, I wanted to be able to help. With this, even neighbouring kingdoms would have to respect you."

Hearing that made Emma flash a watery smile. "You'd do that for me...for us?"

"Of course," Regina responded, going to kiss Emma again.

* * *

"So, are you going to explain what it was that I saw a few days ago?" Red asked, arms crossed in front of her.

Emma looked up from where she was fine-tuning her bow at the Inn's barn. Regina had been busy today and the troupe was done with practising for today's show, so she was passing time here, away from the madness. "You're going to have to be more specific Red, you must've seen a lot of things a few days ago."

Red rolled her eyes and stalked over to the blonde, hands migrating to her hips. "Your lover."

"Oh...Re- ah, Renata?" Emma stumbled as she thought quickly. She wasn't sure how well-known the Queen's name was, but she figured that Red must know it.

"Renata? Never heard of her before...how did you guys meet?" Red asked. Something about her niece's lover nagged at the back of her head, so she was intent on discovering who she really was.

"She works at the palace..." Emma mumbled. After the words were out of her mouth, she figured that perhaps that wasn't the best profession to give her.

"The palace?! Are you mad Emma? Do you realize what could happen?" Red was practically panicking. This was not good at all.

Emma put down the bow and put her arms up trying to ease the other woman. "Hey, relax, nothing bad will happen."

"Emma, haven't your parents told you enough about the Evil Queen? If she finds a thief courting her staff she'll..." Red paused, eyes widening, remembering the whiff she'd caught the other day. "Oh no, no  _no_ , don't tell me she is who I'm guessing she is."

Feigning innocence, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know very well. Now I understand. The constant visits here, the performance for the Queen. You're courting  _her_ , aren't you?" Red asked.

"I uhm...really Red? You don't think that I could-"

"Emma Swan you are not about to continue lying to me... _right_?" She flashed a dangerous glint in her eye to make her point.

Emma deflated as she realized it was pointless. "Fine fine. But please don't tell my parents...she doesn't know who my parents are, she genuinely likes me. And I like her too, as strange as it seems."

Red hummed. "Are you sure that keeping that a secret's such a good idea? What happens when she finds out?"

"I don't want to lose her. She hates them, if she finds out I'm their child, she'll have my head."

"Your funeral," Red said, before sitting down on a vacant chair. "So tell me how you two met."

* * *

Regina looked up from the documents she was poring over and correcting for tomorrow's meeting, and saw Emma standing by the doorway.

"You don't need to wait outside every time, you have my permission to enter," Regina said by way of greeting, putting the papers down.

"I know," Emma said with a small shrug as she entered the room. "But I like seeing your smile every time you look up and see me."

The Queen smiled a bit wider at hearing that. "Aren't you a flatterer."

"My specialty, your Majesty," Emma responded with a small bow.

Regina made an impressed face. "You deigned me with my correct title."

Emma smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I make a habit of not giving anyone the honour of being my queen, or king..."

"And you're honouring me with it?" Regina asked.

She nodded. "Unless I can't-"

The thief was interrupted by Regina pulling Emma down for a kiss. "Of course you can," she said after they broke apart.

"Well then, my Queen, how would you like to practise with some swords? You look like you need it."

"You know me too well," Regina said, smiling.

* * *

Today was the day. In a few hours, they'd be going into the palace to set up in the grand performance hall for their presentation that night. Regina had showed her the room late yesterday night after everyone had gone to sleep and the guards were scarce. They were giggling like young girls and flitting around secretly as if Regina wasn't the Queen of the castle.

But now Emma was nervous. She wanted to impress Regina so much, she was worried that something bad would happen.

Which was why, when Thomas asked if she'd seen Neal and Greg, she paled. Of course, those two idiots  _would_  go missing on the most crucial performance. "No idea. Were they with us when we entered the palace?"

"Didn't see them, but it doesn't mean much. We'll just have to change up our act a bit to accommodate their disappearance," Thomas responded, helping her tie the rope.

"I suppose. Ask around to see if anyone else saw them." Even though they'd never truly decided or voted on it, Emma was in charge. Although Neal would readily argue that it was because of her parentage, she had proven herself as an effective leader, and no one contested her position.

A few minutes later, Cinderella, Thomas' wife, also known as Ella for short, came up to her in the pretense of helping her, and mumbled, "The Queen is here! Look to the balcony!"

Emma subtly looked up and saw that Regina was indeed looking out from the upstairs balcony. Meeting her gaze, the royal winked at her and then left with a flourish of the curtains. The thief blushed and gulped, getting back to her task.

3 hours later, the hall was filled with a majority of the kingdom's higher echelon, who had taken their seats and were quietly socializing. Emma peeked through the curtains and spotted the infamous Lady Smith sitting with her husband, and her child, Peter.

She got back into her position in the middle of the line of the troupe behind the curtains. The curtains raised and they stepped forward. Everyone stood up as well, and looked up to the balcony. Regina entered the small area, and sat down. No one moved for a minute, until she said, "Begin." It was an emotionless command, but everyone understood and moved.

The guests turned back to the stage and sat down, while the seven troupe members got ready. They were missing two of their own but they wouldn't let that deter them. Their first 3 acts had gone off flawlessly so far, and now it was Emma's turn.

She got to the middle of the stage, and gulped. Unseen by anyone, Regina flashed her a comforting smile. Things were going well, she could do this. She danced, breathed fire, pirouetted and shot an arrow in the middle of a twirl, hitting the target perfectly. Impressed gasps and applause greeted her once she was finished. Even Regina clapped along, despite not having reacted in the previous acts.

Once she left the stage, it was intermission time.

"That was great Emma!" Elizabeth hugged her after flashing a wide grin at her friend. Once they broke their hug, Emma took a moist towel from Thomas, and she let out a relaxing breath.

"We're doing good. We're nearly done."

"I think she was impressed with your act Emma!" Ella gushed, having been peeking through the curtain. "What are we going to do for the final act?"

Usually Neal and Greg would do some magic tricks with the audience, but with the duo missing, they had to do something.

"We could try the dancing trick?" Thomas suggested.

"Isn't it a bit dangerous?" Mulan piped up. "I mean, we've never really tested it, and we usually have the final act to interact with the guests."

"We don't have much more to do," Emma said, an idea forming. It was risky, but she would try it. "I've got an idea. Mulan, you're up soon, I'll be back in a bit."

She left her troupe confused as Emma determinedly made her way to where the doorway for the balcony was. Two guards stood there, blocking her way.

"Go back to your performance," one guard said, hand twitching over the hilt of his sword.

"Please, I need to speak to her Majesty, I won't be long."

The second guard let out a mirthless scoff. "A likely story. We know your kind, circus freak, and we won't be so stupid and easily swayed by your tales. Now get back to your stage before we arrest you."

Emma ground her teeth together. More forcefully, she said, "If you want to accompany me inside, to assure yourselves that your Queen will stay unharmed, so be it. I carry no weapon, and I'm merely requesting to speak to her."

From inside the room, Regina heard some angry voices outside the door. She let out a sigh. When would people learn? Getting ready to dole out her scathing demands, she opened the door and was surprised to see Emma there, looking none-too-happy with the guards outside. "What is going on here?"

"We're sorry your Majesty, we're just telling this..." the second guard wildly tried to think of what to call the woman in front of him, for he could hardly say his previous slur in front of the Queen.

But Emma was having none of it. "I believe you referred to me as a circus freak?"

Regina's eyes flashed dangerously to the guard, before turning back to Emma and saying, "Please, come in."

There was an anteroom between the balcony and the doorway, offering them privacy from both the guards, and the crowd below. As soon as the door closed, Regina's lips were on Emma's. She kissed quickly and chastely, knowing that the intermission would be over in a bit, and Emma probably had to be back. "You were wonderful during your performance."

Emma blushed a brilliant shade of red and looked away. "Thank you. I actually wanted to ask you a favour..."

* * *

10 minutes and plenty of kisses later, Emma was bounding back to the backstage area where the rest of the troupe was waiting. Mulan's part had just started, and from Emma's grin, it was clear that she'd been successful in whatever she had planned.

At last, the final act was about to get started, and Emma glanced up. Mulan was ready, and the blonde adjusted the coat jacket. As the curtains raised, Regina saw that Emma cleaned up very well. Decked out in dark riding boots that reached her knees, her white pants made a stark contrast. The red coat jacket was neatly pressed, and showed that underneath, she wore a crisp white shirt, a black ascot tying everything together. Her hair was fanned out, golden tresses shining under the fire lights.

"For our next, and final act," Emma started, voice projecting perfectly, "we'd like to try something new. And for it, I'd like to ask for the participation of the Queen to join me on stage."

Murmurs broke out both with the audience and from the rest of the troupe. Surely she was mad, or had a death wish.

Once Regina had made her way to the stage, possessing the regal air only a queen could, she stood facing Emma. Regina hadn't received too many details, but she had readily agreed to help her lover.

Emma bowed deeply, and held out her hand, "Would you join me for a dance?"

Regina had to fight to keep her impassive queenly mask in place. She could see that Emma was filled with nerves, and wanted nothing more than to reassure her that everything would be fine. She gave a polite nod, and took the offered hand. Getting into position, she subtly and gently rubbed Emma's shoulder with her thumb as a small gesture to relax her. She felt that the blonde did indeed relax the slightest bit at the gesture.

Suddenly, 4 of the troupe members appeared with instruments. They made their way to the very back of the stage, and began to play a slow melody. With that they begun to waltz.

She was very curious as to what made this such an endeavour that would make Emma so nervous.

Before she could theorize anymore, she saw what seemed like glitter falling on them, and then, she felt a familiar sensation. As they moved, she saw that they appeared to be lightly glowing. Next, they floated up a few inches from the ground, and away they went.

Seeing that it worked, Emma grew more confident in her steps, and as they continued to dance in mid air, she had to smile. "This is impressive," Regina quietly whispered.

"I wasn't sure if it'd work, but it did!" Emma excitedly whispered back.

The music played and they danced around the stage. Emma didn't want to go out towards the audience, for she didn't think Regina would appreciate all the Lords looking up her dress gown.

Soon enough, the musical cue letting Emma know that she should wrap this up sounded off, and Emma began to lead them back to the floor.

During the final moments, their personal space was nearly entirely eliminated, they were only a breath away as the song ended and their feet made contact with the floor.

However, before they could move away, the doors to the hall banged open, and even the backstage ones did as well. Guards poured in. Emma and Regina parted, and the former saw their missing troupe members being brought inside through the main doors, both being held by two guards each. Regina looked furious at the interruption and demanded, "What is the meaning of this?!" before the guards had fully made their way inside.

"We found these two  _thieves_  trying to rob the treasury. They said that they were part of the Enchanting Circus performing here."

Regina turned to Emma, and saw the woman's shocked expression. She could also tell that Emma was angry at the two men. "Well?" she prompted, hating that she had to sound so harsh.

Emma reacted to the question after a beat and a flinch, meeting the Queen's eyes. Regina saw fear in them. Fear that she would be blamed for this. Emma had told her that two troupe members had gone missing, hence why she had to think up of an alternative act.

"These are part of our troupe," Emma confirmed monotonously, looking away.

The royal debated what to do. Finally she said, "Due to the very impressive performance, I will let this slide, provided that everything that these two were about to steal is returned." - Regina fought a smirk as she saw Emma look at her with wide eyes, before continuing - "Furthermore, your troupe is to leave tomorrow, as scheduled, and those two," Regina pointed to Greg and Neal, "are  **never**  to return to this kingdom. They are not welcomed, and should I find them here again, I will not hesitate to arrest them. Am I clear?"

Emma nodded vigorously. "Thank you, your Majesty."

Regina then asked, "You are the leader of this troupe?"

"Yes, I am." Emma was confused. Regina was well-aware of this fact, so why ask it?

"I should like to speak with you privately for a bit. Once your troupe is packed up, a guard shall escort you to my chambers."

* * *

An hour later - after packing up and having everyone tell Emma that they should run now before the Evil Queen realized that she had been too merciful, which they had chalked up to being the effects of the fairy dust, and decided to kill her - she had sent them back to town, promising Greg and Neal that she'd have some very harsh words with the defective duo.

Now, a guard was leading her to Regina's rooms, and Emma was nervous. The guard knocked on the door, and from inside, Regina said, "Let her in."

The armoured woman stood aside to let Emma in, and after a gulp, she turned the knob and entered.

Closing the door behind her, Emma saw that Regina was sitting at a table filled with food. She had never been to this part of the royal's suite, having only passed it yesterday when Regina went to show her the hall.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Regina asked, voice emotionless as she didn't betray what they could be here to talk about.

Not taking any chances, and making sure to remain respectful, Emma kneeled, and without looking up, she said, "I ask you for forgiveness your Majesty, I swear to you that I had no idea about this; I promised and assured you that  _no one_  in my troupe was here to rob, merely to help people, but two of them were stupid enough to think that they could steal from you, and-"

"Enough."

Emma quickly shut her mouth, heart beating wildly as she heard the chair scrape back, and fabric swish as Regina came to stand in front of her. "Stand up."

She didn't have to be told twice, and quickly straightened, briefly meeting Regina's eyes.

"Look at me." Once Emma did, Regina continued with, "Why did you ask me to dance with you? You certainly had a wide choice of dance partners..."

Without breaking her gaze, she responded, "Because I wanted to dance with  _you_ , and besides, I'm courting you, not anyone else in the audience. At least, I hope I'm still courting you-"

She was once more interrupted, but this time it was with Regina kissing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that!
> 
> I thought of leaving it after the guards appeared with Greg and Neal but I thought it'd be too harsh of a cliffhanger.
> 
> Also, I know that [as I understand it] royal titles are: Highness for princes/princesses and Majesty for kings and queens, but I figured that it'd be something almost rude to not refer to a royal by their proper title. And knowing that a thief like Emma usually doesn't like royals, it'd be exactly the kind of thing she'd purposely do to upset a stuffy royal.
> 
> Having completed with my update schedule for December [in January but shhhh, semantics], I am going to be taking a well-deserved break, and then be back in a bit with more updates and new fics!
> 
> Hope everyone has a great New Year!
> 
> Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!


	7. Some Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again! Happy Valentine's day everyone!
> 
> So we're continuing with this fic, and continue it off from where we left it with Emma and Regina.
> 
> I'm so happy to see that everyone loved the dance scene! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

"So, you're not mad at me?" Emma asked as they broke apart.

Regina shook her head. "No, I know you are faultless in this scheme."

Emma bit her lip. "But I promised you that we wouldn't rob you, and-"

"You couldn't have known that they would do what they did. It's not your fault, Emma," Regina assured her. It was new territory for Regina. Many years ago, she would have ripped out Emma's heart before trying to hear her side of the story, not believing that Emma might be innocent. Even today she doesn't often be so merciful, but she knew Emma, and believed her.

"I suppose, but still, I'm sorry." Emma punctuated her apology with a kiss, one that was very well received, as Regina brought her hands once more to Emma's cheeks, keeping their mouths connected for a few seconds longer.

Once they parted again, Regina asked, "You didn't answer me earlier, have you eaten dinner?"

When Emma shook her head no, Regina took Emma's hands and led her to the second chair by the cozy table filled with food. "Then I insist you join me. If you have time of course?"

She quickly thought to the rest of the troupe who were probably waiting to see if she returned safe and sound, plus the fact that she still had to lecture two immature teens. If she started eating dinner here with her lover, she might not leave for a while, and her friends were capable of storming in to come and collect her. She explained that to Regina, and she was completely understanding.

"Will I get to see you soon?"

Emma nodded vigorously. "Yes, how about I come visit you the day after tomorrow?"

"It sounds perfect." They shared a few more kisses before Emma started to make her way, but not before snagging a scrumptious-looking bun that was resting on a shiny silver platter.

"One for the road," she explained with a smirk and a shrug. Regina let out a chuckle.

"Oh and Emma?" The blonde turned around, and made a questioning hum. "Despite everything, your troupe will still receive a glowing praise from me."

"Really?"

Regina merely nodded, and received a vibrant grin from Emma, who then rushed to give her a hug, and she returned it with a chuckle. They kissed again before Emma went to leave.

* * *

By the time that Emma reached the circus once again, she had worked herself up into a rage. She entered the tent, and saw that the rest of the troupe was doing a fine job of chewing Neal and Greg out while she was away.

"Emma!" The first to notice her presence was Red, who had apparently arrived earlier to see how things had gone, and to bring them dinner. "They told me what happened, are you okay?"

She flashed Red a meaningful look, silently trying to convey that she was with her lover, why wouldn't she be fine? "Yeah, I'm good. But you two," she sidestepped her aunt to walk to the two defective members of her troupe, "are not.  **What** were you thinking?!"

"The bitch deserves it! We're thieves, and she's the Evil Queen!"

Emma fought the urge to punch Greg right then and there. Red's hand on her shoulder and present company forced her to rethink her automatic defense to her lover, especially considering that she was her parents' mortal enemy. But that didn't mean she still couldn't chew them out for it. "I don't care who she is. If I say that we aren't here to rob anyone, then you  **don't**  rob anyone!  _Especially_  not the reigning monarch that we were trying to please!"

"Why does it even matter? She was going to find fault with us anyway! So why not just throw caution to the wind?" Neal roared, petulantly glaring at Emma.

"Actually," Emma started, crossing her arms in front of her with a smug grin, "the Queen loved our performance so much, she's going to give us a 'glowing praise'. Her words, not mine."

The rest of the troupe lit up with that revelation, Mulan going to thump Emma on the back for the job well done, while Thomas spun Ella around in joyful glee.

"Still!" The boys' ship was sinking fast, but they were going to fight to the bitter end.

Emma was not taking it though. "No; no 'but's, 'still's or 'maybe's. You guys screwed things up, and disobeyed orders. It's time you guys learned your lessons once and for all. Things could've seriously gone wrong with your foolhardiness, and it's by a stroke of luck we didn't end up in trouble. So start packing up, and don't even  _think_  about sneaking out. We're leaving tomorrow morning at first light, I want to make good travel time."

They quickly ate dinner and then got to work, bringing down the large tent first before getting started on the smaller ones. They went to sleep late at night, and true to Emma's schedule, they were up at first light, along with some market owners who were cooking fresh produce for their wares.

Throughout the entire ride, Neal was the very image of a petulant child. He said almost nothing, and the words he did say were minced and curt. Greg was a bit more social, but he was stuttering, indicating he was nervous. An understandable notion for a guy in deep shit like he was.

* * *

Red had decided to accompany them back, claiming she needed to stretch her legs, but it really was that she didn't trust the two miscreants to not bolt away at the first opportunity. Everyone knew of her status as a werewolf meant that she shouldn't be crossed. She was also worried for Emma. It was great that she had found love, but her choice in partner was certainly not ideal. Although she had already promised Emma that she'd keep her secret, there was a catch to it that she let Emma know, as a fair warning: should things complicate, Red would tell her parents. Deep down, she didn't trust Regina. She wouldn't put it past the Evil Queen to be aware of who Emma was, and be using this as a misplaced method of revenge.

But at the same time, something told her that Emma wouldn't be so easily fooled. She hoped she was right about this. She didn't want Emma to be hurt.

As they crossed the archway and entered Storybrooke, it seemed that everyone had been anxious for their return. Red, who had been sitting beside Emma while she drove one of their caravans, saw the Charmings sigh in relief as they saw their daughter safe and sound, and approached their wagon.

"Red! What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story..."

Emma decided to add more at seeing the confused faces her parents had. "Greg and Neal sort of disobeyed orders."

Her parents blanched. "The Evil Queen...she-?"

"We're all fine," Emma rushed to clarify. "How about we put everything away and then we'll talk, okay?"

A few hours later, Emma, along with Red and her parents, were seated around the table at the Charmings' house.

"And she just let you go?" Snow asked, after Emma had finished retelling the entire story. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea that Emma had been in the same room as her mortal enemy, and had lived to tell the tale.

"Yeah, she even offered me dinner." Emma decided that it probably wasn't best to point out that Regina offered it between kisses. That would really not fly over well with them.

David asked, "And she said she'd still praise you? Even though Greg and Neal used the opportunity to steal?"

Emma nodded. "Mulan's convinced that it was due to the fairy-dust."

"Or," Snow began, voice growing thick with trepidation, "she knows exactly who you are, and this is all a trap."

Of course this would all come back to a trap. In her parents' eyes, Regina would never change.

* * *

A few days later, Emma was, as promised, heading to Regina's castle. She was early, so she arrived to an empty room. Lowering her hood, Emma crossed the threshold and went to sit by the fireplace, grabbing a nearby book, thumbing through it to see if it was any good. She looked up as she heard voices and footsteps growing increasingly louder. Realizing that those were too many footfalls for one person, she deduced that in the best case scenario, Regina was being accompanied, which meant that she had to make herself scarce.

Putting the book down exactly where she found it, Emma quickly found the darkest corner, near where the tall wardrobe rested, and backed into it. Emma's outfit was magic, which was also how she had gained her pseudonym. When her hood was raised, it allowed her the ability to seemingly disappear should she find a corner or area which lacked sufficient light. She didn't know how it worked, but it did.

The door slammed open, and Regina stormed inside, accompanied by a mousy-looking older gentleman with dark skin.

"Your Majesty, I'm not trying to undermine your authority, I'm just wondering if it was such a wise idea to praise the Enchanting Circus despite their two faulty members, which thereby proves that they are lawless thieves and-"

"Enough!" Regina thundered, whipping around to face the man, interrupting him with her command. "For someone who insists he is not undermining my authority, you certainly have a funny way of showing it, Sidney.  _I_  decide what I want to do, and you have  **no right**  to voice your opinions out of turn. Hence why I am Queen, and you are not. Now leave me, and I do not wish to be bothered at all tonight, am I clear?"

"Crystal, your Majesty. A thousand apologies once more." The man bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. Emma saw Regina visibly sag, as if she had been keeping her strong posture for appearance's sake - which Emma surmised was probably the case.

She quietly made her way out of her hiding spot, but before she could open her mouth or take a few steps forward, Regina spoke, "You are aware that I can still sense your presence in this room, correct?"

"I was merely trying to avoid your companion, not you," Emma responded with a smile, walking forward towards her lover, lowering her hood.

Regina surged forward to pull Emma towards her for a heated kiss. Emma readily parted her lips to allow Regina's tongue to caress her own. Regina began trying to remove Emma's quiver and belt, but when she stumbled, Emma quickly took over, and breaking for only a few short moments - which they needed anyway to catch their breath - they managed to get rid of Emma's equipment. With a hand to Emma's chest, she prevented Emma from latching their lips together once again. Adding a bit of force to the hand Regina pushed her lover towards her bed, until the back of her knees made contact with the mattress. With one final push, Emma fell on top of the bed, and Regina climbed in after her in her hands and knees, so she was on top of Emma.

Giving her a predatorial smirk, Regina's hands began wandering, claiming Emma's lips once more.

* * *

Later that night, they were both lying comfortably under the covers in Regina's bed, Emma on her back, with Regina on her side by Emma's right, her head resting on Emma's shoulder, an arm and leg gently caressing the toned body beneath her, while a warm and comforting arm kept her close.

"You don't have to go anywhere?" Regina asked quietly. She didn't want Emma to leave, she was very comfortable staying like this. "Your friend...Red, she won't ask questions?"

"Nope," Emma sighed, deciding it was best to tell Regina the truth, or at least, part of it. "She knows who you are, by the way." Regina lifted her head, and looked at her lover with something akin to panic. Not that Regina would ever admit it, but she'd be damned if one of Snow's old friends would destroy this for her. Emma noticed Regina's distress, and with her left hand, she cupped Regina's cheek, and pulled her into a soft kiss. "Hey, I made her promise to not tell anyone. She might not be your biggest fan, but she's willing to be supportive, for me. You needn't worry."

Regina sighed, and said, "I'm sorry, I've just had a bit of history with Red. She was  _Snow White's_ friend," - Emma managed to hold off on flinching at the harsh tone that Regina spoke of her mother - "and I can't help but worry. Worry that somehow Snow will find out about you and try to ruin this for me."

Emma kissed her again. "I'm not going anywhere. And no one will ruin this. If anyone tries, they'll have to go through me."

"My brave thief," Regina teased.

The blonde didn't miss a beat as she teased in return, "Only for you, my Queen."

Regina gave a soft smile before lying back down with her head in the crook of Emma's neck.

After waiting a few minutes in silence, Emma asked, "So, you're still on the search for Snow White then?"

"Not particularly. I might trace down a lead now and then, but it's not the searching I used to do a decade ago, as I'm sure you remember. After she abdicated the throne I decided to let her live in exile. But I've heard rumours that she's got an entire village of supporters, and I don't believe they spend their time braiding each other's hair and singing songs merrily. I'm worried she's up to something and that the ever righteous princess Snow White has had enough living as a peasant, and wants to claim her 'rightful place' as a monarch here." Regina's sigh was indicative of all that she'd been through.

Emma bit her lip. She was pretty sure her mother had no intention of trying to reclaim the throne, but she couldn't think of any way to tell Regina that - and thereby ease her worries - without giving away who she was, and how she could know about Snow's plans. She quickly thought up of a half-truth. "I'm sure that's not the case. I would've heard talks otherwise. You know, from one fellow thief to another, there is no such thing as enough gossip."

"You're certain?" Regina looked up again, hope in her eyes.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure I'd find out quickly enough if it was the case."

The relief in Regina's face made Emma smile.

They were once again resting when Emma remembered some of Regina's words that struck her. "Regina?"

The Queen made a hum, raising her head to once again look at her lover. "Yes?"

Emma hoped that Regina wouldn't be too horrified by this new information. "I-I'm cursed."

There was no fear or recoil of disgust in Regina's eyes. Instead she was looking intently and searching into Emma's eyes. "How so?"

"When I was five, this teen had decided to take a baby running through the forest. Obviously I chased him for it, scared for the baby's safety. At one point, the boy ended up rolling down a hill, though thankfully he kept the baby safe. I went down after him, and took the child, stubbornly deciding to walk away, without really checking to see where I was going. He had warned me that I was going to wrong way, but I didn't listen. Next thing I knew, I ended up in front of this senile warlock's house. He had mistaken me for an old enemy, and struck me. I shielded the baby from most of it by turning away, but I still got hit."

Regina was furious. Furious at the warlock that had dared to hurt her lover like this. In a tense voice, she asked, "What was the curse?"

"Regina, this happened  _3 years_  ago. It was an aging curse. Overnight I grew from 5 to 25. The little boy, who was merely a toddler, turned 5. I've been growing normally since then, and I have all the cognition and skills a normal adult should have. But I thought you should know, since earlier you mentioned things from 10 years ago, I really don't remember because I wasn't born yet. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Emma had looked away at this point, but was surprised when Regina hooked a finger under her chin, and turned her face back to facing her. Without a word, Regina leant forward to claim her lips in a soft kiss. When they parted, Regina said, "You have nothing to apologize for. Thank you for telling me."

"You're not...I don't know, horrified to find out you've been essentially courting a person who has only been living for 8 years?"

Regina chuckled. "As you said, you have all the cognition of an adult. Yes, I do see some playfulness in you, but it's an endearing trait. I don't love you any less for this."

Emma gave Regina a small peck on the lips. "I love you too."

She hadn't even realized that she'd admitted she loved Emma, but she wouldn't dare retract it. She meant it with every fibre of her being. "What happened to the child? The boy?"

"Well his name is Henry. He's adorable, and he's a growing boy who feels he has to look handsome for the ladies," Regina chuckled at that, "and we've been pretty close since the curse, he's unequivocally decided that I'm his mom, and I'm slowly trying to adapt into that. I'd have settled for way older sister, but I guess I do protect him like a parent does."

Regina frowned. "He doesn't have parents?"

Emma shook his head. "No, poor child was abandoned on the side of the road when he was only a few months old. One of the village's people found him, and nursed him back to health. You should meet him one day, I'm sure he'd love you."

"I'd love to meet him," Regina responded with a soft smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's where I'm leaving the chapter!
> 
> Some background on what happened with Emma, and more on Regina. I was going to leave the next arc for a point further on in the story, but I think it makes sense to start it now. I'm sure a good number of you know which arc it's going to be, so yeah!
> 
> What do I have coming up in terms of other fics, a new chapter of Equals, and then I'll be finishing Welcome to Storybrooke!
> 
> As always, I love hearing what you thought about the chapter, so please leave a review!


	8. The Lies She Tells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Chapter 8! I know I told some people I'd have it up last night, but alas, it ended up taking a bit longer, and I had to sleep.
> 
> And I'm glad to have clarified the whole Emma's age thing for everyone, if there are still any questions regarding that, just let me know and I'll try to explain it more.
> 
> Anyway, are things going to start getting intense? Oh yeah!
> 
> So without further ado: the beginning of shit going south.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Heading out?" Jonathan asked, bringing her horse to her.

Emma nodded, mounting Bandit and beginning to guide her steed towards the archway. "Lots of people that need to be alleviated from their riches!"

For the past two weeks, Emma had been busy thieving the surrounding areas. Although it was her duty to bring in their income, she enjoyed getting to mess around with visiting royals who travelled through their neck of the forest, so she never saw it as something tedious or tiring.

However, lately their level of income had suffered because the Ne'er-Do-Well gang had been usurping their targets before them. Despite the fact that it was a direct breach of the treaties they had signed and agreed to with all the other bands, gangs, and groups within the forest, there was little they could do in terms of getting justice for this; the Ne'er-Do-Wells were never known to play by the rules, and there was no body of regulations for cases like these. So Emma, along with her fellow group of Storybrooke's top thieves were on double duties trying to balance their books.

Unfortunately, it led to less frequent visits to Regina because she was bone tired by the time she got home, and heading to the Dark Kingdom was out of the question. When she explained the situation to her lover, Regina had tried to hand her some of the countless jewels she had amassed and had no use for, but Emma turned it down, mainly because she felt bad to take Regina's jewellery, even if it was being given to her willingly. Not to mention that she would have no way to explain how she acquired them, because precious gems didn't just appear out of nowhere, and if there was no high-ranking dignitary screaming bloody murder, it'd look even more suspicious.

Eventually Regina relented, but made Emma promise that she wouldn't wear herself thin to the point of making stupid mistakes and getting caught. Emma promised and sealed it with a sweet kiss before she left.

Now, Emma crossed over to the Enchanted Forest, and began to wander. She briefly considered visiting Regina, but then remembered that the monarch had said she was entertaining some friends, and would be busy. So she worked her horse up to a canter and set off to travel off-roads in search of new victims.

2 hours later, perched on one of the high look-out posts, she found her target. A stark white carriage with rich gilded decorations was riding through the forest. Emma jumped down from her vantage point and climbed onto Ban, urging him to follow quietly.

As she got closer, she saw that there were a lack of guards, and wondered why a carriage would be travelling unaccompanied. Especially one so richly decorated. Emma was certain that if she had had the time to chip away all the gold paint from the carriage, she would be able to square away the poverty in quite a few kingdoms. Even the wheels were golden!

Seeing that the curtains were pulled down, and therefore meant she was unseen to the travellers, Emma neared the carriage so that she was riding side by side with it, keeping pace with the carriage's horses. Making her way beside the driver, Emma swung her leg to ride sidesaddle. The poor man barely had time to react before she was upon him.

"What the-" he managed to get out before Emma jumped out of her saddle and onto the driver's platform, knocking him out with a clean punch.

Taking the reins, she kept the horses on their steady pace before hooking the end of the reins on the carriage's front handle so she could have both hands loose and adjust the driver's unconscious self, laying him down flat across the platform by her feet. It would be painful once he woke up and took stock all the bruises from the uneven and bumpy road, but it was the only place she could put him without throwing him overboard or having to keep him seated beside her, which was more trouble than it was worth. Once that was done, she took the reins again.

"Ban, go hide!" Emma hissed the command to her horse who was still keeping pace, satisfied when the horse veered to wait, unseen. After that was done, Emma pulled the reins. The horses responded immediately and braked, drifting up a cloud of dust at their sudden stop.

Wasting no time, Emma climbed on top of the carriage and waited, hearing muffled voices from inside, clearly informing Emma that the carriage had at least two people, probably 3. It didn't take long before the left door burst open, making the conversation clear.

"Oh just let me handle it. I'm itching for some action," one woman was saying. She stepped outside and Emma carefully took note of the black dress and pointy hat. Once the woman started to look around, walking a bit further out, Emma noticed that she had emerald green skin. Before long, the woman saw Emma perched on top of the carriage, ready to pounce.

"Well hello there!" she greeted, flashing a disarming smile.

Emma didn't respond, but rather jumped off the ledge towards the green woman. Her plan failed miserably as she felt something coil around her and hold her in mid-air.

"Tch, tch! Now this won't do!" the woman exclaimed with a gleeful smirk.

The thief struggled within the grip of what she now saw was a very long tree branch magically coiled around her middle, trapping her arms as well. Emma soon realized that it was pointless as she was brought closer to the woman. "Now, let's see what's under this mysterious hood, shall we?"

Emma tensed her legs, and at just the right moment, pushed out, the soles of her boots making a solid contact with the woman's chest, pushing her back with a loud yelp until she fell over from losing balance. The woman's skewed focus meant that Emma was able to pull herself away from the branch, landing on the ground with a small thud.

However, the woman's exclamation, as well as the retreating branch hitting the carriage alerted the other travellers.

"Zelena! Are you alright?" a blonde stepped out, wearing a bright green dress, hair styled into a tight bun on top of her head. Seeing Zelena on the ground trying to get up, and the hooded thief standing nearby, she readied her hands, powering them up with magic as well.

Seeing that there were two magic wielders - which explained the lack of guards - Emma decided that she wouldn't allow herself to be overpowered, and would graciously admit defeat by getting the hell out of dodge. Grabbing a smoke bomb from her pouch, Emma threw it to the ground by the blonde in the green dress, barely noticing the new blonde coming out of the carriage.

"What the hell?" the new voice sounded, clearly coming from the newest woman to join the fray. "Is this your doing, Tink?"

"No! It was that thief!"

Emma wouldn't stick around to find out what that group of magical women would do to thieves, so she scrambled to hide in the underbush. However, her plans were put to a halt when she was once again seized by a branch and hauled into the air upside down with a loud yelp, and pulled back to the carriage. It seemed Zelena had cleared the smoke with a wave of her hand, and she now saw that there were four women.

She guessed Tink was the one in green, and the other blonde Emma recognized as being Princess Abigail. And the fourth..."Regina?"

Regina for her part, looked quizzically at the thief she was suspending upside down.

"You know her?" Tink asked, turning to the monarch clad in her dark red dress.

She said nothing, merely stepped closer to where Emma was now being righted, the branch's hold loosening ever so slightly. With another flicker of her hand, Emma's hood was lowered. "Emma," she responded with a smile.

Without further ado, Emma was lowered to the ground, and let go. "Hi," she greeted, smiling sheepishly.

Regina was looking very amused at her lover, but Zelena not so much. "Hold on a minute, I recognize you."

"You do?" everyone asked, surprised. Foremost were Regina and Emma, who exchanged a single look of pure confusion.

"Yes, I sold you an apple a while back in the market. You were in quite a state."

Emma remembered the incident, it was the second time she had visited Regina, after Lord Vincent's men had given chase to her. She looked different with green skin, but the auburn hair was the same, she was surprised she didn't recognize her, Emma was usually good with faces. Before she could say anything, Regina had rounded off on her. "You were hurt?"

Once more Emma was interrupted before she got a word in, this time by Zelena. "Anyone want to explain to me what's going on?"

"Well..." Emma attempted, before Regina stepped in.

"Emma and I are lovers." It was a succinct way of encompassing their relationship, skipping over how exactly they came to be acquainted and the nuances of their relation.

Tink and Abigail looked ecstatic, while Zelena still looked very confused. "Didn't know thieves were your style, sis."

" _Sis_? That's your sister?" Emma blurted out.

Zelena finally cackled. "Half, but yes, sister. And due to the lack of other family, I will be asking you of your intentions..." at Regina's glare, Zelena amended, "at a later date, of course."

That didn't make Emma feel any better about the eventual interrogation.

"Well this is all fun and games, but perhaps we could talk more when we arrive at our destination?" Abigail asked. "You are obviously welcome to join us, Emma."

"Oh!" Emma bit her lip as she thought. After a moment of deliberation, she looked at Regina, whose face clearly displayed her hopefulness that Emma would say yes. "Alright. If you want, I can steer while your driver comes to."

Zelena snorted in amusement, looking to the front where she could now see the unconscious driver. Abigail meanwhile rushed to the driver and to make sure he was alright.

Then it was settled. Emma called Bandit back and tied his reins to the side of the carriage so he would ride alongside them, and Emma got in the front seat. While she waited for the other ladies to get back in the carriage, since they were taking the opportunity to stretch their legs, she was mildly surprised when Regina made her way towards her and sat down beside her. Emma looked confused at Regina, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Regina didn't look the least bit fazed as she responded, "I'm going to be riding beside you, what does it look like I'm doing?"

Emma hardly knew how to articulate herself, but finally managed to say, "Wouldn't you rather prefer to be inside though? That dress looks really uncomfortable for this humid weather."

"Perhaps so," she acquiesced, waving her hands around herself, changing her dress to riding clothes. "But you are here, and I find that much more entertaining and intriguing than riding inside with them, even if they are my friends."

Emma smiled, growing wider when Regina pressed their lips together. They were interrupted by a knocking from inside, indicating that they were ready to go. Breaking apart, Emma made sure Bandit was tied securely, and she got the horses going.

After a few minutes of silently riding, Emma turned and saw Regina's eyes were closed as the air whipped past her. "So, quite a motley of friends you keep."

Regina chuckled. "The perks of being a Queen. Tinkerbell has been my friend for quite a number of years, and Princess Abigail is a more recent acquisition."

"Acquisition? You make it sound like it's a kingdom you seized," Emma commented.

"Maybe I am planning it," Regina responded with a mischievous smirk. "But no, I have a healthy alliance with Midas' kingdom, and since he is abdicating the throne soon, I thought it'd be wise to become friends with the future Queen. Nothing sinister."

Emma nodded. "And your half-sister?"

Regina sighed. "That is a bit of a hairier matter. Zelena showed up 6 years ago with the full intention of doing me off in the name of revenge. However, by some coincidence, our tussle led us right to Wonderland."

The thief was listening intently, eyes widening when she heard of Wonderland. From what she had learnt, the place left Mist Haven looking like child's play. "What happened then?"

"Then, Zelena met my mother, the intimidating Queen of Hearts. Suffice it to say that within 10 minutes, she was changing her tune. No longer was Zelena jealous that I had to grow up with the vile woman." Regina had told Emma a little about her mother, though she thankfully withheld from asking Emma about hers. "And the rest is history. We managed to get ourselves away from that madness, and back here. Zelena travels between here and Oz, visiting me. And as you saw, she sometimes helps out by selling apples, though I have no idea why she enjoys it so much."

Emma chuckled.

"Now, what was this about you being hurt?" Regina pressed.

So Emma explained about Lord Vincent and her narrow escape a while back.

When she was done, Regina admonished her for not telling her. "I could have healed you!"

"Well if memory serves me right, you were a bit angry that day," Emma countered.

"Still," was Regina's petulant answer.

With a chuckle, Emma pulled the royal closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. She was thankful that everyone else from Storybrooke was either hidden in the village, or far away, so she was in no danger of being discovered. She knew she should tell Regina the truth soon, but she had no idea how to get around to it.

Regina burrowed closer to her, clearly also of the idea that no one would be bothered to think that this was the feared Evil Queen snuggling up to a thief. "I missed you," she murmured.

"Me too." Emma punctuated it with a kiss to Regina's forehead.

* * *

Their destination ended up being a cottage near Midas' kingdom, owned by Abigail herself. Once everyone had gotten down and their luggage deposited inside, Emma tried to excuse herself, saying that she had to leave and continue her duty to rob people, but Abigail wasn't having any of it.

"Just take my jewels. Heavens knows I can get plenty more without spending a penny," she said, undoing the clasps of her necklace.

"I couldn't-" Emma tried to counter.

Abigail insisted. "Oh come on. Just take it already. You get to stay a bit longer, and I'll make sure to describe a magnificently epic tale of how you spirited it away from my own neck."

"And," Regina added, magicking a bag of what Emma suspected was more glistening jewels and trinkets, "an additional bag of jewellery was in her carriage, that you certainly couldn't leave behind."

Emma was speechless, but Regina quickly solved that by covering Emma's parted lips with her own, drawing them into a deep kiss.

"This cottage has rooms, you know?" Zelena jeered. "Very private rooms?"

Merely throwing an obscene gesture her way, Regina said nothing, as her mouth was currently very busy. A few seconds later, she transported herself and Emma into one of the aforementioned rooms. There, Regina began to explore her lover's body with abandon, and Emma wasn't anymore shy with her own wandering hands.

* * *

A few hours later, they rejoined Regina's friends, and the trio of tittering women had no shortage of lewd comments and questions about the couple's activities as they ate dinner. Neither Emma nor Regina were shy about their responses, more often than not just throwing witty comebacks to counter.

By that time, Abigail's driver was awake, and Emma profusely apologized to him, ensuring that it was nothing personal. He accepted the apologies with a smile and a chuckle, understanding the situation. Emma found out the man's name was Frederick, and that he was currently courting Abigail; he served not only as her driver, but also her personal knight, at the behest of her father, who insisted that she needed protection from all the dangers in the world.

In Emma's mind, Frederick still needed plenty of training.

Soon enough, it was time for Emma to head back home, and she made her way outside to drop off the bags of jewellery she was 'stealing' into Bandit's pouches.

"Will I get to see you soon?" Regina asked from behind her.

Emma smiled and nodded. "Yes, hopefully very soon. I'll probably still have to do plenty of thieving for the rest of the week, but maybe next week we can get together?"

Regina made her way closer to Emma. "Well I have to travel a bit to visit a dignitary nearby, early next week. Perhaps after that?"

She nodded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around Regina's waist until they were standing merely a breath away from the other. "I can't wait, my Queen."

Their lips met once again for a lingering kiss, and when they parted, neither woman wanted to step away.

"Be safe, okay?" Regina said, tucking a strand of errant hair behind Emma's ear.

"Always am."

* * *

"What's got you so excited?" Neal asked with a huff.

They were both taking care of the books, counting the village's earnings and divvying it up for their next outing. Neal was being his usual grouchy self, while Emma could hardly contain her excitement. She was going to see Regina tomorrow, and she could hardly wait.

"Nothing much," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe because we're nearly done here."

"Good."

Emma couldn't help but riposte, "Still think this is better than stable duty?"

Neal cracked a smile for once. "Nah, definitely mucking up the stables is better. I hate math."

"You and me both. Now come on, let's wrap this up and we can see if there's still sun to be enjoyed."

20 minutes later, they were both locking things up and heading outside. It was still light out, but Emma wouldn't get to enjoy the sun for much longer. After parting ways with Neal, she started to make her way home, but stopped when she heard her mother call her name.

Turning, she saw the dishevelled state Snow was in as soon as she stopped in front of her to catch her breath. "Mom? What is it?"

"Greg has run off, and Red had informed me that the Evil Queen is travelling, so we  _have_  to find him," Snow explained in a rush.

Emma blanched. So much for a peaceful day to get her hyped for seeing Regina. "Alright, let me get changed, and I'll meet you by the archway."

Snow nodded, and Emma set off. Rushing home, she got changed into her signature green getup, pulling the hood up once she was done. It wasn't often that she got to work with her mom, so this was a nice change of pace. Strapping the quiver full of arrows to her back, she felt ready. With her bow in hand, Emma made her way to where her mom stood. She had a similar costume, though hers included a cape, and it was completely white when clean. In Emma's opinion, the white somewhat defeated the purpose of stealth, but Snow insisted that it was a symbol for hope, so she would keep it as such.

"Come on, we should get to higher ground," Snow suggested. Within minutes, they were traipsing through the treetops, keeping quiet but still on the lookout for Greg. That idiot was in so much trouble.

"There!" Emma whispered, pointing to where Greg was currently trying to quickly make his way down the road.

It wasn't that the man was under arrest, but due to the epic fumble in the Dark Kingdom, both he and Neal were under strict supervision and not allowed to leave Storybrooke. This was a breach of his punishment, and very dangerous for their quiet village.

"Come on, we should get closer," Snow said, beckoning Emma to follow her.

Before they could get much closer, they heard a carriage. Looking down, Emma recognized the insignia on the carriage, as if the pure black colour wasn't a dead giveaway.

Shit.

"Stay quiet," Snow quietly stated, heart probably in her throat, much like Emma's was, but for a different reason.

"Shouldn't we try to stop him?"

Snow shook her head. "No, that would only draw attention to ourselves. We just have to hope the Evil Queen won't give him the time of day."

Waiting, they saw a suspenseful scene play out.

* * *

When the carriage lurched to a stop, Regina wondered why. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Emma was up to her tricks, but a glance outside revealed a more disappointing truth.

Opening the door to her carriage with a flourish, she sneered down at the man standing by her horses, two guards surrounding him with their swords out. "I know you..."

"Y-your majesty! I come to plead you for asylum, in exchange for very valuable information." The man, Regina was sure his name was Greg from what she recalled Emma had said, was pitifully fiddling with the hem of his shirt, eyeing the swords pointed at him.

"And why should  _I_  care about any information you have to give me?" Regina asked in a cool voice.

"It's about Snow White! I-I have information on Snow White," he blurted.

This certainly changed things. Assuming he was telling the truth. "Snow White? And how could you know anything about Snow White?"

Greg was nodding furiously. "B-because I've been living in her village! I can tell you everything I know. Where the village is, facts about her life. Just please, I need asylum."

Regina frowned, her mind whirring. This man knew Emma, they worked together because they were in the same troupe of thieves and therefore were living in the same vicinity. And if he lived in the same village as Snow, did that mean Emma did too? Had Emma been lying to her? Her anger began to mount as she hissed, "I will give you no asylum, you pitiful man, until I have proof that your information is legitimate. Why do you need asylum, and why are you so willing to sell her out?"

Greg explained that he was being punished for getting caught while visiting the Dark Kingdom, and that he was tired of this life. "I don't know how to prove it to you, but all my information is real."

"You're telling me that little Snow White is leading an entire village composed of thieves?" Regina scoffed. "You're going to need more information than that to make me believe you."

The man tried to wildly think up of what to say. "She married that guy, Charming!"

"Inconsequential. That insipid man was already with Snow. To hear he married her is hardly surprising," Regina spat, growing tired. She gave a silent command with her hand to do off with this nuisance.

"She had a child!" Greg tried, sounding desperate as the guards advanced on him.

At that, Regina raised her hand to stop the guards. They heeded her order, and she approached ever so slowly, her hyper senses noting that she had company above in the treetops. "A child? Do tell."

* * *

Emma was sure that her heart would leap out of her mouth in a moment. She was gripping the branch she was on so tightly, it was probably in danger of snapping in half. This was very bad indeed.

"We have to stop him from talking even more," Emma whispered, panicked.

Snow shook her head. "If she finds us, we'll be in a lot more danger. It was inevitable that she would find out about you. We'll just have to be careful a bit more. Now keep quiet, otherwise she'll notice we're here."

Unfortunately for them, they were so entranced with the scene below, they didn't notice the magicked branches slowly coiling around them, not touching their bodies, but close enough that, with a tug, it would snap around them and immobilize them.

Below, Greg was nodding, sounding relieved that he was getting another chance, and that the Evil Queen seemed interested. "Yeah! She had a daughter."

Regina could barely try to imagine how absolutely dense a child Snow birthed, with Charming's genes, could be. "And how old is the young one? 6? 7 years old? Has she already been corrupted into a Charming and swearing vengeance on those who wronged her parents?"

Greg was shaking his head, and Emma had half a mind to jump down and tackle him herself. "No! Actually, she was cursed, she's an adult now. Her name is Emma, she danced with you!"

Simultaneously, a few things happened. Snow had whipped around to stare at Emma in pure confusion. The branches had been activated to coil tightly, making them exclaim in surprise, which drew Regina's attention away from Greg, and her currently shocked state, to pull the intruders down.

"Well, well, well!" the trip down had lowered both mother and daughter's hoods, allowing Regina to glance at them side by side. "It seems like this is my lucky day! Fresh information on Snow White and her brood, and then I get the two of you handed to me! It's been such a long while, dear Snow. And this is your daughter! How... _absolutely surprising_."

Emma refused to look at Regina, but had little choice when Regina stepped forward, gripped Emma's chin and forced her to look. The hold wasn't harsh, but it lacked the gentleness that Regina usually reserved for her. Then again, she looked furious, though Emma could note that there was hurt in her eyes. She felt betrayed. "Yes, I can see the similarities."

"Let her go, please Regina, your problem is with me, leave her alone!" Snow tried to plead.

"You? Oh dear, I've long gotten over all of that," Regina responded, her eyes not leaving Emma's.

"But...you've been asking-" Snow began to say.

Finally breaking eye contact, Regina lowered her right hand to Emma's left shoulder, coming to stand behind the thief, pressing her body to Emma's, only the wound branch between them. "I've been asking because I was under the impression you would try to steal my throne back, maybe perhaps even try to take away my happiness and those I held dear. I was told by a good source," here Regina subtly rubbed her thumb on Emma's shoulder, leaving no doubt to the two women as to who she was referring to, while still leaving Snow in the dark, "that you had nothing planned. At hearing you had a child, I wondered if your spawn was planning on eventually continuing where you left off, and here I find that she's an adult! And a competent one too. Tricks and lies just like you do, dear Snow."

"Please Regina," Snow once more pleaded, eyes watering.

Regina's cold smirk grew. "Oh no, no pleading, Snow."

With that, she waved her hand to make her guards and carriage disappear, returning them to her stables. Glaring at Greg, she said, "Consider yourself lucky. Your information grants you the opportunity to live another day, so scram."

Greg didn't need to be told twice, scrambling away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Please Regina, you can't be this heartless. I will do  _anything_!" Snow cried, struggling.

"You have nothing that I want. But I am going to have a little chat with your daughter, so do excuse us."

The last thing Emma saw before the smoke consumed her, was her mother's heartbroken expression as she wailed in agony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muahahhaha, oh you guys must hate me.
> 
> Would a double update make everyone happier?
> 
> If so, expect a continuation in a few days! Otherwise, I'll be updating Equals, followed by In Sickness and In Health!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	9. Always Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bahahaha, oh I know, that was cruel of me, so here we go, another update! More than 3,900 words!
> 
> And this fic surpassed 100 reviews over on ff.net! Just wow, thank you! And a note because a lot of people mentioned it: I am not abandoning the fic! I just have a system wherein I update my fics in order, so it sometimes might take me a while to update all the fics, but I'll get around to it.
> 
> Alright, moving on, let's see if this chapter makes things better!
> 
> Or worse~

When the smoke cleared, Emma saw she was in Regina's bedroom, no longer held by the wound branch. Instead, one of the standing candelabra's arms was coiling around her from behind, keeping the thief in place.

Trying to gauge Regina's anger, she saw that the monarch was furiously pacing around the room and seemingly ignoring her, so Emma ventured to speak first. "Please, Regina-"

"Silence!" Regina whipped around to face her, eyes wide, mouth set into a snarl, and Emma saw she also had the smallest amount of moisture in her eyes. "Do you  _honestly_  think me that stupid? Was this a giant game for you? Is that it? 'Make the Evil Queen suffer for what she did to my parents'?"

"No!" Emma exclaimed, not wavering when she saw Regina stalk over to tower in front of her, looking positively seething. " _Please_ , just let me explain. I beseech you. You said you wanted to chat, so  _please_ , just hear me out, okay?"

Regina's eyes were darting wildly over Emma's own, searching for  _something_ , some kind of trick perhaps. Finding nothing, she gave a curt nod. "Very well, if you think that's going to help you."

"At the very least, I want to clarify." Seeing Regina wasn't fazed, Emma began. "I know it was wrong of me to keep the truth from you, and I'm sorry. But I didn't lie about how I felt about you. I  _do_  care for you Regina, so much. I was afraid that, once you found out who my parents were, you'd hate me for it. Or at the very least never have given me a chance to see where this went."

"Shouldn't you at least let  _me_  make the decision for myself?" Regina asked, snarling the words. "If I didn't want anything to do with the two idiots, then perhaps trying to trick me into falling for you, their spawn, doesn't help, now does it?"

"But it wasn't a trick!" Emma countered, exclaiming her words with a sense of urgency.

Regina sighed. "And  _how_  am I supposed to trust you?" she asked after a few moments of deliberation.

"Because you know me. I told you the truth about everything else in my life. I merely never mentioned anything about my parents."

The royal's lips quivered into a minuscule smirk for a fraction of a second as she quipped, "Not exactly an inconsequential detail."

"I just wanted you to give me a chance. When I rescued you from the carriage, I didn't know who you were. If I had, and my intentions were truly malicious, why would I have saved you? And when I had my suspicions, why would I have taught you how to use a sword? Or taken off that manacle that trapped your magic?"

"Multiple reasons. There is the saying of a fate worse than death. For all I know, you wanted to make me suffer before doing me in and vanquishing the  _despicable Evil Queen_ ," Regina responded without missing a beat, a mocking tone to her moniker.

Emma rolled her head back in anguish and let out a groan. "We can keep doing this all day, Regina. I had no ill intentions, despite your misgivings on my veracity, and I'm prepared to prove it any way I can."

This piqued Regina's interest. "Any way whatsoever?"

"Yes. Just say what and I'll do it for you." The thief nodded. Thinking about it for a second, she amended, "Barring a few exceptions."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I won't kill my parents or do anything drastic," Emma explained with a disarming smile.

Regina took the jab in stride and gave a small smile of her own. "Oh drat. Very well, I will think of something."

Emma beamed, and then frowned as she looked down at herself. "Am I gonna have to stay like this the entire time while you come up with something? Because I promise I won't run off."

After considering her words for a moment, Regina acquiesced and released Emma from her confines, setting Emma down gently. Thankful for the freedom, Emma flashed Regina a smile before she stretched her sore and contracted muscles.

Meanwhile, Regina went to sit down on the settee as she thought. Of course she had to have fallen for Emma, fate had a way of being like that. And Emma did have a point. If she had known even the slightest bit about her parentage, Regina would have shoved her far away. As it was, Emma  _did_  make her happy. She had been looking forward to getting to see Emma tomorrow, but this complicated matters.

Glancing at Emma, she could see that the blonde was conflicted about having caused Regina so much distress. Deep down, she hoped Emma really did mean no harm, but Regina had been tricked and taken advantage of too many times to easily accept Emma's promises, no matter how genuine they sounded.

"Would you have told me the truth eventually?"

Emma was still standing where Regina had released her when she heard the quiet question. "What?"

Regina turned to fully face Emma, and then patted the empty space in the settee. She wasn't even sure why she wanted to potentially cause her even more pain, or what it would prove, but it was the only question currently tumbling around in her head, she had to know the answer. And it wasn't like she could take it back. Despite Emma's questioning response, she was sure the other woman had heard her loud and clear.

Once she was seated, Regina repeated herself. "Would you have told me the truth about your parents if I hadn't found out about it today?"

"Yes," Emma responded almost automatically. "I wasn't sure when I'd get the courage, but you deserve the truth. I mean, this is telling me that  _that_  conversation would've been a disaster, but I would've told you."

Something told her that Emma was being truthful. "And what of your parents?"

"What about them?"

"Well, I assume they will found out about us eventually, as well. What if their reaction is less than favourable, as I'm assuming will be the case?"

Emma could see where this was going. She could also see the uncertainty Regina was trying to hide. She itched to grab Regina's hand and offer some physical comfort, but in their current situation, it probably wouldn't be well received. "I would choose you. I would pack my stuff, and come crash here. Granted I might also bring Henry along, little bugger is glued to my hip most of the time."

In Regina's mind, that sounded blissful. Emma with her, and the addition of the young child that had taken a shine to Emma. But life was never that simple.

Someone began knocking at the door.

"What?!" Regina growled, glaring at the closed door as if she could pulverize whoever was on the other side.

"I-I'm sorry to disturb you, your Majesty," a timid voice could be heard. Clearly this messenger didn't want to be in the position to deliver what was surely bad news. "But there's a contingent of very angry outlaws heading to the town's gates. What should we do?"

Regina glanced at Emma, who let out a small groan and sunk her head in her hands. Of course her parents would be coming full force. "Close the gates and man the stations. I will deal with it personally."

"Yes, your Majesty, right away."

Once she heard the retreating steps of the guard, and she turned to Emma. "What are we going to do?"

Emma was wildly thinking of ideas, and settled for one. "I might have an idea. Do you trust me?"

Regina was still angry at Emma. Being lied to, even with good intentions, set her on edge. Although Emma had apologized, and left a perfect mental image of an idealistic future, she was still hurting. But right now was not the time to get pedantic, otherwise there'd be no future for them whatsoever. She nodded, because despite said hurt and anger, she did trust the woman she had come to care for. "Yes, what's the plan?"

"Take me to the edge of the forest by your kingdom," Emma simply said.

Even though she had a multitude of questions, Regina nodded and stood up, Emma following suit. With a wave of her arms, they were now where Emma had requested. They could see a multitude of people rushing towards the Dark Kingdom, holding anything varying from pitchforks to torches and swords. There was even a cart. trailing behind. "The plan?"

"Easy. You go and meet that mob at the gates. Explain to them that you don't have me locked up, I'll show up coming from here, they see you're telling the truth, we part ways, and I later just explain you were looking to intimidate me and left me in the forest."

It sounded like a straightforward plan. "And...you'll come see me later?"

Emma desperately wanted to kiss Regina's worry away, but, once again, she doubted they were in a position where Emma was welcomed to do such an intimate gesture. Instead she just smiled and nodded. "I promise. Now go, I'll be there soon."

With one last look, Regina decided that she needed a small comfort, so she surged forward and claimed Emma's lips with her own. Their kiss was short and bittersweet, but it allowed both women to feel a bit better about their plan. "Stay safe," she said once they parted.

"Always am," Emma responded with a wink.

* * *

When Regina appeared by her kingdom's gates, she felt a smidgen of fear at being faced with the incoming mob. There were at least 30 angry people headed her way, and at the front were her two least favourite people: the Charmings.

When they were a few feet away from Regina, they stopped, weapons at the ready, while Snow took a few additional steps forward, Charming right behind her. "Where is she?"

"She who?" Regina asked, pretending to be aloof.

Charming's hand tightened over his sword hilt, the tip glinting in the sunlight. "Don't lie to us, witch! Where is Emma?"

In the distance, she could see Emma approaching, but she had to stall until she got closer. "How should I know? I don't keep tabs on your child."

"You took her! You said you were going to talk to her, so don't you  _dare_  try to lie to us," Snow enunciated.

Regina nodded. "I did speak with her, and I let her go. Where she went after that is none of my business."

Seeing that Emma was nearly there and she knew she couldn't keep distracting the angry parents in front of her, she added, "Ah, there she is now! What did I tell you?"

"Mom, dad!" Emma exclaimed, coming up to stand by the pair and hugging them tightly.

"Emma! Are you hurt? Did she do anything to you?" Snow asked, running a critical eye over her daughter, checking for any injuries or discrepancies.

Emma chuckled and shrugged their worries off, offering the smallest of looks towards Regina before saying, "I'm fine, see? In one piece. She was all bark and no bite."

Normally that kind of line would cause Regina to take offense and prove the speaker wrong. But she was willing to be demure for Emma's sake if only to expedite getting the Charmings out of here and stop them from snooping and finding out that not only she and Emma had met prior, but that they were courting - although the definite status of their relationship was currently in the air.

David seemed ready to take Emma's word, but Snow had had too many experiences with Regina's devious tricks to accept anything at face value. Not to mention that she knew that Regina would never accept Emma's dismissal of her prowess,  _and_  not show her might to counter it. Narrowing her eyes, Snow turned accusingly to Regina. "What did you do to her?" she demanded.

Regina was genuinely baffled at the question. "I've done nothing to her, Snow. As you can see right in front of you, she's perfectly fine."

"No, no, you've done  **something**." Then an idea struck her. "You took her heart, didn't you?!"

Out of all the different outcomes and possible things for Snow to accuse her of, it had to be this. "Excuse me?"

In Snow's eyes, Regina's lack of outright denial was indicative of her guilt. "You did! You took my daughter's heart! You're controlling her and plan to use her against me."

Before she could do anything else, an arrow was pointed at her heart, courtesy of Snow, and Charming was gripping his sword tighter, ready to attack. The rest of the mob seemed eager to get violent, their voices growing in excitement. Suddenly, Emma stepped in front of Regina, facing her parents and the mob, arms out. " **Enough**."

"Emma, honey, you're not yourself right now. Please, step aside. We know it's hard for you to not listen to her commands, but-"

"No,  _stop_!" Emma exclaimed, cutting Snow off. Everyone was surprised, Emma never talked back to her mother like this. Lowering her arms, she announced, "My heart is in my body, and I'm of sound mind and body. In fact, I'll prove it to you."

A pause, and then, "Erhm, how exactly do I go about that?"

Regina piped up, "You need a magical practitioner to remove it."

"Alright then!" Emma turned around to face Regina. "Do it."

At that moment, Regina was sure Emma had lost her mind. And she probably wasn't very far behind from losing her own when she found herself hearing Snow voice thoughts she herself was partially having.

"Emma! Are you crazy? Getting your heart removed is painful and dangerous! And you can't trust her."

Emma turned her head to face her parents. "Well you want proof I have my heart in my chest, and she's the only magical being I see in the vicinity, unless you want to head back home to find out there?"

She did have a point, and despite how much Snow hated the idea, she had to admit that it was a sound plan. "Very well."

Regina wished she could say something to dissuade Emma, or to reassure her somehow. Anything was better than just having to silently and emotionlessly stare at Emma, as if she wasn't scared shitless of hurting her lover. "This will hurt," she bluntly stated.

"I know," Emma said with a nod. She had her back to the mob, so she was free to give Regina small reassuring smile without anyone else seeing. Stepping forward, she clenched her fists beside her, tense, waiting for Regina to remove her heart.

"You must relax," Regina said, extending her arms so her palms rested by Emma's shoulders. Since her thumbs were hidden from view, she gently rubbed the area near Emma's clavicles in a gesture of soothing comfort. "I will make this as painless as possible," she added in a quiet whisper. "Just follow my instructions."

Relaxing her arms and hands, Emma nodded and whispered back, "I trust you."

Regina wasn't sure if she was nodding to assure Emma, or herself. She shifted her hands a bit. Now her left hand was lightly clutching Emma's shoulder, and her right palm was resting over Emma's heart. A bit louder, she commanded, "Now, breathe in, deeply."

Emma did that, and at the same time, she felt a discomfort in her chest. Looking down, she tried to not panic as she saw Regina's wrist connecting with her chest, the hand completely out of sight. "Relax, I'll give you a moment to adjust."

Trying to inhale and exhale normally, Emma increasingly realized that Regina's hand didn't feel intrusive, even as she felt it slowly clutch her heart gently. Also, she could have sworn she was imagining it, but it almost felt like Regina was stroking her heart, giving it - and in turn, Emma - feelings of hope and reassurance that everything would work out.

"Do you think you're ready to allow me to remove your heart?" Regina asked after a moment of silence. Behind Emma, a few villagers shuffled, and someone coughed.

"Yes."

Regina nodded and quirked her lips the slightest bit upwards to try and reassure Emma with a smile. "Good. Now breathe in again."

Emma did so, and after a few seconds, Regina added, "Now breathe out."

With the exhale, she felt Regina clutch her heart a bit tighter, and tug it out. She hissed at the discomfort.

Barely imperceptible, Regina murmured, "I've got you, you're safe."

Once the heart was fully removed, Emma's first instinct was to collapse to her knees. As her knees and palms connected with the earth, she tried to get her bearings. It felt so strange to not have her heart inside her. But at the same time, she wasn't afraid of what might happen. Regina held her heart; she was safe.

For her part, Regina was staring reverently at the pulsing deep red organ in her hand. It seemed to have flecks of yellow lines resembling veins surrounding it, but now was not the time to examine. Her lover was by her feet, and needed her heart back. Kneeling, she lightly rested her free hand on Emma's right shoulder once more. "Emma?" she ventured quietly. "How are you feeling?"

Raising her head, Emma tried to give her a comforting smile. "Weird."

Behind her, it seemed that Snow was thinking it was taking too long to finish things up. "Put her heart back,  **now**."

Raising her head to stare at Snow, she rolled her eyes and gave a light scoff. "I'm trying to make this as painless as possible for her. You can't rush me, otherwise she'll get hurt."

"Oh don't start spouting off nonsense Regina. Why do you care what happens to Emma? If anything you're probably revelling in her pain right now."

Regina's eyes flashed dangerously. She had half a mind of outing their relationship because she was not going to allow Snow to diminish what she felt for Emma. But then she felt something strange in her right hand. Looking down at it, she saw Emma's heart, and felt this warm pulsing light exude from it. Looking curiously at Emma, she saw the blonde sit on her heels and mouth, "I love you."

This was what she was feeling in her hand via the heart. Proof of Emma's love. If she had any doubts that Emma was truly had good intentions, this banished all worries.

"The heart, Regina,  **now**." Snow broke through the happy bubble Regina was in, and she looked up sharply once more.

"Yes, of course." Looking back at Emma, she gave her shoulder a soft squeeze to let her know she had heard and understood. "Now, breathe-"

Snow was clearly losing her patience. "Oh for heaven's sake, Regina, must you do this?"

"Do you  _want_  me to harm your daughter?" Regina spat. "If you don't, then you'll allow me to do this my way."

"Enough stalling," Charming growled, coming to stand behind Regina, pointing the tip of her sword to the nape of Regina's neck. "Now! No breathing exercises."

"Dad, please, let her do it properly," Emma pleaded.

David eased up on the sword at his daughter's words, but let out a huff of impatience.

Regina let out a nervous breath. Giving the heart a soft rub once with her thumb, she positioned it in front of Emma's chest. "Breathe in."

Emma did so, and Regina slowly pushed it in, knowing that too much pressure or not enough would really hurt. Even just hearing Emma's soft hisses and shudders pained Regina.

"Let her go, now!" Snow commanded. Charming's sword was still resting threateningly by her neck, but Regina was determined to do this right.

"If I let go now, I'll hurt her!" Regina exclaimed, not even looking up, eyes trained on Emma's chest, as if she could see through to where she was placing the heart. But she knew from experience that placing the heart back properly was trickier than removing it. It had to be placed just right.

"Time's up, witch," Charming intoned, his sword pressing just a little bit further to cause a reaction.

What happened next was a rush. The sword's pressure caused her to flinch, and therefore let go of Emma's heart as she jerked her hand back, trying to move away from the sword. She heard Emma's gasp and heave, clawing at her chest trying to reach the misplaced heart.

Silently cursing her knee-jerk reaction, she whirred back around and stuck her hand back in, desperate to finish the job and put the heart in its proper place.

However, the Charmings and their people thought Regina was trying to do something else. Namely remove the heart once again, and in the confusion, escape with it. As everyone readied to attack, Emma saw from the corner of her eye that an archer was a little ways away, readying to take a shot at Regina. Barely able to think through the pain she felt in her chest, she did the first thing that came to her mind, and that was to push Regina out of the way.

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed as Regina lost her balance and thudded to the ground on her back, Emma on top of her. "Get away from her!"

When the blonde made no effort to get up, Regina frowned. As she looked down, she nearly heaved when she saw the arrow that had pierced Emma's side. "Emma..." she breathed.

Emma was ripped away from her, and the hand that had just been inside the thief's chest now felt strange, empty. Just a few minutes ago she was holding her heart, being silently told that she loved her, and now: "Begone, witch!"

Regina didn't need to be told twice. Sparing just one glance at Emma, she called up her magic to transport her away from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't say I didn't warn you!
> 
> While I leave you guys wallowing in pain, I'll be updating Equals, and In Sick and In Health.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this! As much as you can enjoy the pain I suppose...


	10. Touches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've left everyone in pain and misery for quite a while, so allow me to alleviate some of that suffering.
> 
> I promise this chapter is all fluff! Well, mostly fluff and some plot.
> 
> Enjoy!

When Emma came to, she let out a groan of pain and a sharp hiss. She felt the surface she was on move, and she shifted.

"Oh Emma! You're alright!" Cracking an eye open, she saw her mother sitting beside her, while she was lying on the back of a cart, jostling ever so slightly as they moved. Everything that had happened in the past few hours came rushing at her. Regina finding out the truth, being taken to the Dark Kingdom's palace, pleading to be believed, her parents storming to the kingdom, her heart willingly taken by Regina to prove a point, and then saving her lover from an incoming arrow. Emotional pangs, physical pain, it all went away the minute Emma lost consciousness, but now it was slowly creeping back up.

What a day.

"Where are we?" she huskily asked, trying to get her bearings. She noted that she was lying on her right side, probably in order to minimize the amount of pressure on her left, which was still hurting from where the arrow had pierced her, though she was glad to note that the arrow was no longer there, and she was all bandaged up. Her jacket was gone, she was only in her white tunic shirt, so she felt a bit more of a breeze in her arms.

Snow gently rubbed her thumb over Emma's right hand. "We're making our way to Storybrooke. We've been going slower to not rattle you, and we also had to stop awhile to remove the arrow and put some salve on the wound."

"You can speed up if you want, I'll be fine," Emma said, shifting. Her left shoulder felt weird, but she couldn't figure out why, and she didn't have the strength to actually look up and see what it was.

"Nonsense, we're nearly there, and besides, you don't want to startle your new friend," Snow said, jerking her head to something she couldn't see.

As if summoned, a tiny blur with black fur leapt down from its perch on her shoulder. That explained the strange sensation. As she focused on what exactly it was, she frowned. "A squirrel?"

Snow nodded, seeming excited. "Its taken a shine to you. Arrived just as we entered the forest and hasn't left your side."

Emma looked at the squirrel's beady little eyes and smiled, going to stroke its fur, and from its expression, it was enjoying the attention very much. Her mother smiled and attempted to join in, but the tiny creature jumped away from the hand, angrily chattering.

"Oh my, it doesn't seem to like me very much," Snow remarked sadly. Considering that all woodland creatures loved her to pieces, it was hard to see that even one creature didn't like her.

"Maybe in the past you smothered the poor thing with hugs and kisses," Emma riposted.

Snow leveled her with a playful glare. "Oh very funny. I'll go let your father know you're awake and clearly feeling better if you're jesting so much."

When Emma was left alone, the squirrel approached her again, moving from where it had hidden under her mane of hair. "Hey little one, why have you taken such an interest in me, huh?"

The squirrel just chattered once more and raised up onto its hind legs, placing its front paws onto her face delicately. She smiled at the gesture. "Aren't you an adorable one."

Shifting a bit, she felt her eyes droop closed, but first she felt the inexplicable urge to do one more thing. She fumbled to get her necklace out from under her shirt, and twisted the silver necklace once so it would form an eight-shape, then placed the empty loop over the squirrel's neck. "If you want to stick around for a while," she sleepily mumbled, "keep that on."

The squirrel didn't budge from its post, keeping a watchful eye on the blonde as she fell asleep, but grabbed onto the necklace's pendant, a swan, and bit into it curiously, pawing at the cool, smooth surface.

Soon enough, the creature looked up startled, feeling that the scene changed. What had previously been a dense forest was now a bustling town. The squirrel let go of the pendant in surprise, and then quickly disentangled itself from the necklace, just as David climbed onto the wagon.

"She's completely out," he remarked, kneeling to pick her up. "Should I take her to her cabin?"

Snow nodded, grabbing Emma's dirty and bloodied jacket so she could wash and fix it. "Yeah, I'll get Fowler to meet us and take a look at her."

From its perch, the squirrel watched for a moment, before following the ex-prince's path towards a little hut. It found a new place to watch, near Emma's dresser, and stayed quiet as Snow reappeared, this time with a dark skinned man who looked to be quite old, with his salt and pepper hair and beard. He deposited his hat by the door and then checked over Emma, redoing the dressing over the wound, before giving his final diagnosis to the parents.

"She's fine. Her heart might take a little while to be recalibrated, unless you want to get Hoffman in to set her heart back."

Judging by Snow's face, that was not an option. "But it'll be fine otherwise?"

"Oh certainly. The heart tends to right itself eventually, it's just helpful to have it done by hand, but she'll be fine. As for the wound, just rest and salve. No strenuous activities, and certainly no gallivanting around the forest. If you need me, just give me a call."

"Thank you so much Fowler," David said, seeing him out.

Snow turned back to her daughter, and saw the curious squirrel there as well. "Goodness, you've really imprinted on her, haven't you? You keep a close eye on her, alright? I'll be back in a bit to check on her."

The squirrel just tilted its head sideways, getting Snow to let out a chuckle at the adorable antics before she left. Once the door closed, the creature moved, approaching Emma once more.

The thief slowly awoke once again, and as she blinked open, she recognized her room as her own. As she looked around, she noted that, curiously enough, the squirrel was still there. "Hey you," she said in a raspy sleepy voice. "You're still here, huh?"

Once more only chatters responded her query. Emma smiled and reached out to stroke its fur. "Well you're certainly a curious conundrum. Why are you still hanging around? Do you want something of mine?"

Suddenly, the squirrel moved away from Emma's touch and leapt down from the bed.

Emma began to protest, "Hey wait, I didn't want you to-"

But the words died on her lips as she saw a column of purple smoke where the squirrel had been. Emma watched, slack-jawed, as Regina appeared, a soft smile on her face. Once the smoke dissipated, she went and sat down on the edge of the bed, letting out a soft laugh at her lover's reaction. "Surprised?"

"Well yeah, you turned yourself into a squirrel!" Emma was flabbergasted to say the least. She hadn't the faintest idea that was even possible, though that did explain quite a bit.

"I did. I thought it'd be the best way for me to get close and keep an eye on you," Regina murmured, stroking Emma's cheek. Then she leaned down and kissed Emma softly, almost as if she was afraid of hurting her. Emma smiled into the kiss, reveling in feeling Regina's lips again.

"You make it sound like you expected me to get into trouble," Emma teased once they parted.

Regina merely gave Emma a look that encompassed how exasperated she felt. "Yes well, you managed to rope me into removing your heart in order to foolishly prove a point to your parents, something I still can't wrap my head around, since it was extremely dangerous and you're very lucky you didn't get hurt even more."

Emma shrugged. "They thought you took my heart, and I didn't want you to be blamed for something you didn't do, it's not that complicated of a concept."

"Perhaps, but I know that mostly anyone who knows of the Evil Queen would be petrified if I was that close to their heart." Regina retorted. Her breath hitched when Emma gingerly took Regina's hand, the one on her cheek, and brought it down to rest over her heart. Emma smiled reassuringly at her.

"I trust you. With my heart, and with my life too. I knew you wouldn't hurt me, even though I hurt you before by not telling the truth," Emma responded.

"We will talk about that later," Regina said with a melancholy smile. "But now, I'm just glad you're safe. And...if you want, I can right your heart from where I left off. The man that just left...Fowler I believe is his name, said that it would right itself eventually, but if you prefer..."

Emma nodded, thumb stroking the back of the hand. "Do your thing."

Regina gently plunged her hand once more into Emma's chest, finding the misplaced heart with ease, and shifting it so it was in its correct place. For Emma, the change was automatically noticeable. She heaved a great gulp of air, and she felt herself relax. "Much better."

Smiling, Regina leaned down again and placed yet another kiss on Emma's lips. "Excellent. Now, I will heal your wound and I refuse to take no for an answer."

"What? No you can't!" Emma exclaimed, raising her hands up to stop Regina.

Regina sighed and leveled Emma with a look. "And why exactly can't I do that?"

"Because I have no way to explain it. Wounds don't just magically heal without a magical practitioner to do it, and we only have one guy who could manage that, and he sure as hell isn't getting anywhere near me."

After pondering it for a few moments, Regina offered, "Perhaps then, you'll allow me to cauterize it? It wouldn't be that noticeable, and it will help alleviate the pain."

Emma agreed, and Regina set to work, moving to sit against the wall by Emma's left side. Once she was done, Regina rubbed the area and gave Emma yet another kiss. "How does that feel?"

"The wound or the kissing?" Emma cheekily asked, getting her arm swatted for her effort. But that didn't deter her from continuing with, "Because the wound still hurts something fierce, but the kissing is making it all so much better."

Regina rolled her eyes, but still gave her another kiss.

"I meant what I said, y'know? I do love you," Emma said.

She believed it. With all her heart, she knew Emma loved her. "I know, I love you just as much, but we still need to talk about what will happen from now on, especially with what you had been keeping from me."

Emma agreed. "I'm all ears."

"Not now, you're still recuperating, and I'd rather you be fully awake for this."

The blonde nodded, already beginning to doze off. Regina moved to stroke her lover's hair soothingly, feelings warring within her. This was her lover, the woman that had made her feel wanted and so much lighter than she had felt in years. But at the same time, this was Snow's spawn, she should despise her and everything she stood for, and yet, she couldn't find herself to hate her. Emma was right, not telling Regina about her parentage - albeit Regina would've preferred to not have been lied to - opened the doors for a romance that she cherished beyond all else. She just wanted Emma to clarify everything, for them to be on the same page from here on out.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when a door slammed open and closed. She heard feet pattering up the stairs, and before she could react or transform into a squirrel once again, a young boy burst through the doorway, hair wild. This must be Henry.

He only regarded Regina for a moment before she looked at Emma. "Mom?"

Emma cracked an eye open and grinned. "Hey kid, how're you?"

Henry clambered up onto the bed by Emma's right, giving her a small and quick hug. "I'm okay, but what happened to you? Snow said you fought the Evil Queen!"

Regina bristled at the mention of the moniker, and Henry noticed it, brows furrowing as he asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Regina, and you must be Henry," she greeted, flashing a soft smile at the young boy.

Henry grinned at her, nodding. "Yes I am! Nice to meet you, Regina." Turning to Emma he said, "What is she doing here, mom?"

Emma chuckled, giving Regina subtle wink before explaining, "This is my lover, Henry, and incidentally happens to be the Evil Queen from lore. But!" she hastened to add, bringing a hand to Henry's shoulder, "she's not evil, you see? She's incredibly kind, and harmless, okay? She won't hurt you."

Looking back at her, Henry saw that the brunette didn't give any signs of being evil. In fact, if Emma hadn't mentioned it, he never would've guessed. So he just smiled and waved at her. She readily returned the gesture, before also leaning forward and dropping a kiss on his forehead. He gave her a goofy smile, and Emma let out a soft laugh.

"Just remember Henry, no one can know she's here, okay?" Henry nodded seriously. "Good. Now, can you go to my desk and get a blue velvet pouch on the top left drawer?"

"Sure!" He scurried off to another room, ready to rummage through her desk for his objective.

"Well, you've met my unofficial kid," Emma said, looking at the brunette monarch.

"He's adorable, and he really looks up to you."

Emma hummed. "Kinda why I was so reluctant to have him as my kid. If I was just his older sister, messing up wouldn't be such a big deal, but as his mom, I'm so afraid of doing the wrong thing."

Regina smiled, taking Emma's left hand in hers and stroking it soothingly. "I think you're doing a fantastic job from the little I've seen, so I don't think you have much to worry."

They heard Henry return just as Emma said a soft "thank you", and watched as the young boy made his way back onto the bed, holding out the blue pouch.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks Henry, now," Emma started, turning to Regina. "As you probably realized, getting into Storybrooke isn't easy. You need one of these magical pendants here," Emma pointed to the swan necklace that was resting over her shirt. "I was going to give you your own pendant eventually to you, but since you're here..."

Regina understood what Emma was saying, and took the proffered bag. Inside was a similar necklace to the one Emma was wearing, except this one had an apple pendant. She raised an eyebrow, amused. "Really? Out of all the symbols you could have picked, you chose an apple?"

Emma shrugged, flashing a grin of her own. "Why not? It's fitting, plus I thought you'd appreciate the reference."

Shaking her head, Regina smiled and gave Emma a kiss. Henry looked away with a blush at the gesture, but when they parted, Regina got Henry's attention by asking him to put the necklace on her. Once it was on, she thanked Henry and looked at the apple insignia. Her lover had quite the sense of humour. She was sure that, if Snow ever saw it, she'd outright have an attack

* * *

Snow wasn't far from an apoplectic attack at that moment. After she had left Emma's hut, she headed back to her cabin, going to prepare some food to later send over to Emma. She was halfway done with cooking when Fowler knocked on her door. "Excuse me, my lady, something has been bothering me, and I must ask..."

"Certainly, what is it?" Snow prompted, curious as to what could be eating him, opening the door a bit wider to let him in.

Fowler entered the house with a nervous air about him twirling his hat in his hands. "You mentioned Emma's heart being taken out by the Evil Queen, and at first I didn't really take much stock from it, because of the urgency of the matter, but: are you  _sure_  her heart was removed?"

"Yes, I saw it myself." She had also almost fainted at seeing her nemesis holding her daughter's heart, so she knew without a doubt that it had happened. Her panic wasn't something she'd readily forget. "Why?"

"It's just...Emma is the child of your true love with David, and in itself is a fascinating phenomenon," Fowler began. As a practitioner of medicine, he had read any and all books that he could involving the human body, even those that were more outlandish or magic related, since it helped to be informed on misconceptions and special cases, respectively. "One of the most vital points to a child of true love, is their unwavering sense of self. They are incorruptible. Which also means that their hearts can never be tampered with or tainted."

Snow wasn't quite sure what this had to do with what happened earlier Emma, but she nodded. She knew all of this. "Yes, I remember reading about this a few years ago. But I'm afraid I don't understand? What is the problem?"

"Snow, the Evil Queen shouldn't have been able to remove Emma's heart. It has to be given  _willingly_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that! Told you it'd be fluffy!
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this! How many people guessed that the little squirrel was actually Regina in disguise?
> 
> Next up from me will be a few drabbles, followed by Equals, and then In Sickness and In Health!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	11. True Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! After so long without updating, let's get this show on the road!
> 
> Just a minor note, at the beginning of this fic I mentioned I was envisioning this to be 30-ish chapters and I believe that was a broad over-estimation, considering my chapters tend to be very long, and I was checking over the plot line for this fic and realized we're quite a ways through this story!
> 
> So I'm thinking that the revised length will be about 5 chapters more maybe?
> 
> Also, terribly sorry for not responding to everyone's reviews, but I wanted to get this posted before I left for a few days, so I will respond to the rest of the reviews when I get back.
> 
> But anyway! I have a story to tell and you lovely folks have chapter to read! Enjoy!

When Emma awoke, she felt a bit disoriented. Her bed felt familiar, but it was like someone was there with her...

Opening her eyes, she found Regina sleeping peacefully beside her. She let out a silent sigh as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and tried to focus. She clearly had been given a lot of strong medicine, for she barely remembered anything that had happened yesterday evening.

She vaguely recalled Regina insisting that she would stay the night, worried for her lover's health, and Emma now smiled at the gesture as she sat up. She wanted nothing more than to finish clearing the air between them so they could go back to normal and her guilt wouldn't be eating at her.

As if her thoughts had awoken her, Regina's eyes slowly opened. "Emma? Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Emma answered, her voice raspy from sleeping with her mouth open. She pulled her legs closer to herself. "Yesterday, I remember you said you wanted to talk when I mentioned the whole lying thing, and I'm kinda worried about what that entails. I mean, I know I screwed up, but at the same time, I thought we mostly hashed it out, so I'm wondering if you changed your mind or-"

"You're rambling," Regina smiled, lying a comforting hand on Emma's left elbow. When her lover still looked worried, she sighed, maintaining eye contact as she sat up too. "We don't have to do this now. I'd much rather you recuperate before we do this."

Emma shook her head. "No. I want this to be done and over with. Otherwise it'll just come back to bite us. I delayed in telling you about my parents and look where it got us."

"Very well." Regina had to concede that Emma had a point, but she wasn't sure where to start. And then she figured she'd work her way to it. "I love you Emma. I know you do too, especially when you whispered it as I held your heart. I could feel it. But at the same time, this is a lot to process. I understand why you did what you did, and that there was no malicious intent involved. It's certainly not going to get me to stop loving you, so please don't think I'm abandoning you. I just think you should give me some time to come to grips with this and understand that this who I'm in love with. And then we can continue where we left off."

Emma nodded, a hopeful smile blooming on her face before her face dropped and she squinted. "So what does that mean for us? In terms of what I can or can't do."

Regina thought about it for a minute. "I'd just want some space to think. Independently of our status, I can't stay here much longer, for both my safety and the fact that I have a kingdom to run, but I'll visit you for the next days as you recuperate, and you can still come visit when you heal. Last night was obviously an exception in terms of sleeping over because of your injury."

"Okay, I understand." Emma was glad that things had gone over so smoothly, she had been expecting a lot worse, like Regina realizing that this was more than she bargained for and deciding she really wanted nothing to do with Emma.

As if noticing her change in mood, Regina moved to give Emma a soft kiss on her cheek. "Come on, I'll make breakfast for you and Henry."

They both got up and got dressed for the day - with Regina helping Emma to get her shirt on after she magicked her own clothes onto herself - and while Regina was preparing things in the kitchen, Emma went to rouse Henry. Together, they made their way to the kitchen, where Henry watched in fascination as Regina prepared porridge.

Regina was halfway through making breakfast when everyone froze at hearing Snow open the door and greet, "Good morning everyone!"

It took a lot of self-control from Emma to not drop the plates she was carrying. She was just thankful her kitchen wasn't in full view from the front door, otherwise Snow would've seen Regina, and then they'd be in a world of trouble.

Emma barely had time to take a deep breath and then swivel around with a fake smile plastered on her face as Regina transformed into her squirrel form again and went to join Henry, much to the latter's amusement.

"Mom!" Emma exclaimed, a little bit too forcefully. "What are you doing here?"

Snow looked nonplussed at Emma's question. "I'm visiting my daughter, is that a crime? Especially when said daughter has been hurt so badly?"

"No- yeah! I mean, just figuring that you could knock..." Emma's rambling attempt at an excuse withered away into silence as she even realized how ridiculous it sounded.

As if attempting to help her daughter save face, she glanced at the stove with surprise, "And you're making breakfast! You should've called me honey, I would've helped."

Emma waved it off, setting the plates down and going to stir the pot of porridge. "It's fine, it's just porridge, I think I can handle it."

"You know how to make porridge?" Snow asked. She recalled the last time Emma had tried. It had ended up as a solid block that was then fed to the horses. And not even they would eat it.

"Yeah, I grabbed the recipe from Marian. Lovely lady, really great cook," Emma quickly amended. "Do you want a bowl?"

Not having the heart to turn her down, Snow smiled and accepted. She then turned to Henry, who was entertained with a little black squirrel. "It seems your little friend's gotten quite attached Emma."

It was Henry who answered her, "Yeah, she's really friendly!"

"Oh! It's a she?" Snow asked.

Leaving the wooden spoon to clatter against the pot, Emma rushed to add, "Yeah! I just let Henry decide on a gender and he picked girl."

Thankfully, Henry went along with it and beamed at Snow. "Yep! I'm naming her Lady Squirrel, Lady for short."

Snow took it all in stride as just kid things, and once more tried to pet the squirrel, but just like yesterday, the squirrel ducked away and chattered her displeasure.

Clearing her throat, Emma slid a bowl of porridge in front of everyone. "So mom, did you just come by to check up on me or did you want to talk about something."

"Oh it's alright, we can talk about it later," Snow dismissively said. It was clear that whatever she wanted to talk about, she didn't want to do it with Henry present.

So they ate in silence, the squirrel staying close to Emma and Henry. Snow had to admit that the porridge wasn't that bad, and made a mental note to talk to Marian. Maybe her porridge recipe was really that great.

As soon as Henry left, excited to spend the day out, Emma went to wash the plates with Regina the squirrel perched on her shoulder, and then turned to her mom asking, "So what's this about?"

Snow took a deep breath and said, "It's about Regina."

Attempting her best passive face, Emma blinked and asked, "Who's Regina? Is she new?"

"The Evil Queen Emma."

"Right! Her, yeah sorry, I'm a little out of it. Plus I'm not sure I really ever learnt her name," Emma quickly explained, her lying game much more fluid than it was when she awoke. And that was also considering that Regina was being fussy and distracting, not happy to hear her name or moniker, switching to Emma's other shoulder and using her arm to climb down to the countertop. "What about her?"

Snow faltered here, biting her lip.

"Mom?"

"Bear with me okay?" When Emma nodded, Snow continued, "Last night, Fowler came to visit. And he told us something very interesting. As you know, your father and I are true love-"

"Yes and you two had a magical kiss that broke the spell that this Regina had placed on you," Emma dramatically added with a flourish, having clearly heard that story many times before.

Snow glared at her and tersely stated, "If you'll let me continue..." Emma gestured for her mom to continue, and with a satisfied sigh, she did. "Our love means that you, our child, are a child of true love. And Fowler explained that it comes with some caveats that we basically already knew. Like your sense of self. No one can ever corrupt or take it away from you. And it's a wonderful thing. However, that also means something else."

Emma was still lost on how this all tied together to Regina, so she prompted, "Which is?"

"No one can remove your heart Emma. It shouldn't be possible. To be able to remove your heart means that someone could control and manipulate you, something that you should be completely safe from."

Connecting the dots, Emma frowned as she said, "Okay, but Regina clearly removed my heart and put it back, so it's clearly not true right?"

"Not exactly. The only way that would make it possible for your heart to be removed would be if the person doing that was your true love."

A crash was heard as poor Regina the squirrel -who had been listening quite intently to the conversation - had been pretending to munch on a spoon and now dropped it in surprise at hearing Snow's words.

Emma used that to focus. She couldn't exactly be ecstatic to the news, so she adopted a confused and borderline disturbed expression. "Whoa, back it on up. Are you trying to imply that Regina is my true love? Ew mom!"

"No! Oh dear gods no!" Snow was quick to clarify. "No I was trying to say that maybe while you were with her after she kidnapped you she might've done something to trick your heart into believing she was your true love."

"To what ends?" Emma asked. "She gave me my heart back, plus I have to tell you, we didn't really talk much in her room. She just threatened me to not try and follow in your footsteps and try to reclaim the throne unless I was prepared to fight her to the death, and then she dropped me off in the middle of the forest."

Regina was silently impressed with the quick story Emma had made up, and committed it to memory in case she had to repeat it.

"Maybe this was a test. To see whether it would work, and then later she'd be able to use it to truly take your heart," Snow was quick to counter. "She's devious Emma. You might think she wasn't up to much, but believe me, you can't trust her."

Emma gave a noncommittal hum at that. "But hang on. Say she did throw some magic dust near my heart and all that you said. Wouldn't that still be considered corrupting my heart and therefore not feasible?"

"Well," Snow began, looking a bit guilty as she avoided Emma's eyes for this next part. "I know of one way to figure out whether or not she did do something to your heart. But you might not like it."

"What is it?" Emma asked, growing worried.

"Hoffman." At Emma's face, Snow was quick to add, "I know you hate him, and I'm not a big fan of his either. Your dad and I would accompany you, but if we can see if she did anything to your heart, we can maybe prepare ourselves. It's worth a chance, even if that chance is him."

Emma wanted nothing more than to deny it. Not only because he didn't trust that man within an inch of her life, but she also knew that having him prod around for her heart would clearly show that Regina had gotten Emma's heart because she loved her, thereby revealing their entire relationship. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a sharp nip on her finger. "Ouch!"

It was Regina, and somehow, Emma understood that to mean that she should go ahead with her mom's plan. Surely her lover had some idea cooked up that would get them all out of this. So she sighed and said, "Okay, I'll go. But just give me some time to clean all this up and finish dressing."

Snow nodded and beamed. "Oh, and a squirrel biting you means they like you, so I think Lady's taken a shine to you, even if she doesn't seem to be a big fan of mine."

Emma just let out a laugh and waved goodbye to her mom. As soon as the door closed behind her, Emma breathed easier, and turned to see Regina transform again and pick up the spoon she had dropped.

"Well that went better than I expected," Regina dryly said with a smirk.

"I'm still under a heavy dosage of medicine, so my skills at lying are a bit stiff. Anyway, I hope you do have a plan and that little bite wasn't a love-bite as my mom implied."

Regina's face was enough to tell Emma that it most certainly wasn't the case. "When I give you an actual love bite, you can rest assured it will be under very different circumstances, I won't be in that form, and your mother will be nowhere near us."

Emma snorted in amusement, but sobered as she remembered the situation they were in. "So the plan? Because Hoffman definitely won't be able to take out my heart, and then we're screwed."

"Easy, I disguise myself as this Hoffman character, and remove your heart. No one is the wiser, and you don't have to deal with him. Is he that unpleasant?" Regina asked.

"Worse. He has a crush on me and he's a little bit too...much," Emma tried to explain. "Basically, he's in his corner of the village, and everyone leaves him alone. The only reason we even still put up with the guy is that he's the only magic practitioner we have, and my mom doesn't want to leave us without someone that can manipulate magic."

Regina frowned. "He sounds wonderfully terrible. But what about those damn fairies? Did they finally see reason and abandon Snow?"

"Not really, but the fairies couldn't stay here all the time and respond to every whim the village has." Emma never really liked the fairies, so it was no big loss in her mind. "So how are you going to replace him?"

"Easy, I'll make my way there, knock the oaf out, and disguise myself as him. Then I, as Hoffman, am free to take your heart out, therefore disproving the idiotic theory to your parents, and they leave us alone."

Emma smirked. "That sounds fantastic, but I have to ask one thing."

Seeing Emma's playful expression, Regina went along with it, scooting closer to Emma. "And what would that be?"

"What're your thoughts on the other theory though? I mean, that we can actually be true love?" Regina faltered here, and Emma took it the wrong way and hurried to add, "Not that it's important, but since it concerns us, I just thought I'd ask."

Rather than answer, Regina surged forward to kiss Emma. It was soft and chaste, but it still left Emma's heart fluttering. "I think it's wonderful Emma, even though it's taking a while for me to wrap my head around it."

"Well once this is done, we'll have plenty of time to figure it out, sound good?" Emma asked, to which Regina nodded and kissed her again. "We're terrible at this staying away thing right?"

Regina let out a full laugh while she nodded. "Though believe me, I'm not complaining."

They eventually sobered enough, and while Regina helped Emma get ready she added, "One little caveat that I forgot to mention; due to the magic I put on your eyes to allow you to see me when you were in the Dark Kingdom, you won't actually see Hoffman when I'm there, you'll see me. But just pretend it's him."

"Hard to do that," Emma said with a smile.

"If it'll help, I'll also be making lewd comments."

"That'll do the trick."

Once they were done, they went their separate ways, with Regina transforming into a squirrel and hurrying off to Hoffman's house, whike Emma went to join her parents.

"You certainly took a while," David remarked worriedly.

Emma pointed to her injury. "Hard to get dressed with this."

He understandingly left it at that, and together, they walked to Hoffman's house.

"Now remember Emma, just try to keep this simple, and we'll be out of here in no time," Snow said as she knocked.

When the door opened and Emma saw Regina, she had a momentary lapse of panic wondering whether the disguise perhaps wasn't working.

"Hoffman, we're terribly sorry to bother you-" Snow began. Emma breathed easier at that. They could only see Hoffman in front of them.

"Not at all," Regina drawled, eyes raking over Emma's figure.

Emma would've felt extremely uncomfortable if she wasn't seeing Regina, but still kept appearances by shuddering. "Anyway," she began, pushing past her disguised lover and inside. "We have something to ask of you. A favour."

"Anything for you." David cleared his throat as a warning, and Regina pretended to stutter a bit before saying, "Yes, what do you need?"

Snow gave a much more truncated version of things, and explained why they needed help.

"Well certainly I can help," Regina responded, putting her hands up and flexing her fingers as if that would prove her point.

Both Snow and David were thoroughly disgusted with the antics, but ignored it for the sake of wanting to protect Emma. If this creep could do what Regina did, then at least that meant that Emma wasn't in any immediate danger from Regina. Though at the same time they feared what could happen if Emma's heart could be so easily removed.

Emma stepped forward and stood in front of Regina. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Now I have to warn you, this probably will hurt, especially getting your heart removed so soon again, as you said." Emma could see Regina looking remorseful at having to do this again. A heart wasn't meant to be taken out over and over again so soon. She wished there was another way, but this was the most immediate method at settling this once and for all.

"I'm ready. Do it," Emma said reassuringly. She gave Regina a subtle nod and a wink, one her parents couldn't see.

"Now, take a deep breath in," Regina instructed, plunging her hand into Emma's chest. "And out!"

Emma's breath out became a pained gasp as her heart was removed again. She stumbled back a bit but David caught her.

Regina flinched the slightest bit, wanting to go help Emma but she kept her composure, knowing that this was a role she had to play. She inspected the heart in her hand and could now understand the golden flecks. This was the heart of a child of true love. "Beautiful," she whispered.

David cleared his throat again, and this time Regina was truly startled and stuttered a vague apology.

"Well from what I can tell, there's no spell over her heart. Does this help prove what you wanted?" Regina asked, holding the heart up.

Snow nodded. "Yes, thank you Hoffman. We can pay you-"

"Nonsense. Getting to see this lovely young woman is payment enough," Regina cut through. She did all the work and she'd be damned if the actual Hoffman got paid for it. Turning to Emma she said, "Now, deep breath, I'm going to put your heart back."

Once her heart was back, Regina saw that Emma was clutching her injury, and she smirked, knowing she would get her way. "You know, I am quite adept at healing, such a brave woman like you shouldn't be bedridden and kept from the fight. So let me heal you."

"No, it's fine-" Emma tried to say.

"Oh come on Emma, there's no reason to deny his help," Snow countered, looking puzzled at Emma's denial.

Emma was feeling quite woozy so she ground out, "It's fine, I don't want her to stress herself."

"Her?" three voices echoed, though Emma could note the brief infliction of panic in Regina's voice.

Trying to quickly fix her slip, Emma quickly said, "Him. Him. Sorry, slip of the tongue."

It seemed her parents had bought it, but they were still looking at her expectantly.

Emma floundered a bit, knowing she had no real reason to deny it, and begrudgingly accepted it.

After Regina was done, Emma gave a small smile and admitted, "It does feel better."

Regina looked way too smug as they left, and even Snow looked happy.

"Wow, Hoffman seems even nicer than I remember. Maybe the time holed up here has done him some good."

"Doubt it mom. He probably just wanted to hold my heart," Emma grimaced. Last thing she needed was for the real Hoffman to get credit. "But anyway, we proved that legend wrong, there's nothing keeping my heart in my chest, anyone can remove it."

David nodded pensively. "It's good news and bad too. We need to find a way to protect it. Regina now knows that she can easily remove your heart, and it's not beyond the realm of reason that she might want to use your heart to get back at Snow."

Emma just nodded passively along, tuning everything out. She knew there was no use trying to argue with her parents, but at the same time, she didn't want to listen to all the nonsense they were spewing. She was thankful when she saw her home coming closer, and she could excuse herself.

* * *

When Emma finally closed the door behind herself, she sagged a bit.

"Are you okay?" Regina's voice made Emma look up, seeing her lover looking worried. "You look pale Emma, come sit down."

Once Emma did that, she said, "Sorry for my slip-up."

Regina scoffed. "You needn't apologize. You've had your heart removed twice in as many days. I'm surprised you're still standing. What I don't understand is why you would deny getting healed. I could understand if it was Hoffman himself, or if you had no way to explain it like yesterday, but your parents were right there."

Emma shrugged. "Magic has its price right? I didn't want you to have to waste it on me."

"It wouldn't be a waste Emma. You saved my life by taking that arrow, and I don't care how much it would cost me, I would heal you no matter how bad the damage was."

Emma could only smile fondly at that. Regina was truly amazing, she just wished her parents could see it too.

"Now come on, I'll help you get started on dinner later for you and Henry and then make my way back to the Dark Kingdom. Everyone must be livid I left in such a hurry," Regina said with a sigh.

"That bad?" Emma asked with a wry smile.

"Worse," Regina countered, heading to the kitchen. "But anyway, I'd rather not think about all that now. Tell me about Henry."

And so Emma explained Henry living with her, though he sometimes liked to spend the afternoon with his grandparents. "They've totally adopted him as their grandchild, which makes him ecstatic."

* * *

A few hours later, Henry came bounding inside, but he didn't look at all happy.

"Henry? What's wrong," Emma asked, immediately standing up to walk over to him. Regina had already been standing up, she was getting ready to leave when Henry entered.

"Grandma and grandpa want to talk to you...they don't look happy," Henry glumly responded. "They also asked that you bring Lady with you. Aunt Red is there too."

The two women looked at each other with dread.

Emma gently held Henry's shoulders as she said, "Stay here okay kid? I'll be back soon. Go play in your room or practise reading."

Henry solemnly nodded, and headed upstairs.

Once Henry was out of earshot, Regina shot Emma a worried look. "They found out didn't they?"

"Probably." Emma distinctly remembered Red's exception to keeping her secret, and she cursed. "I'm guessing Red told them. I'm going to go talk to them and I'll be back-"

"You're not going alone. They asked for both of us," Regina interrupted, her tone not leaving anything for discussion.

Emma was too nervous to argue, so she just nodded, and once Regina had transformed into her squirrel form and was perched on Emma's shoulder, they walked over to her parents' house.

She opened the door and was greeted with her parents battle ready, with their sword and bow in hand, respectively. Red was standing to the side, arms crossed.

"Emma, anything to say for yourself?" Snow asked, entirely too breezily to be casual.

"Not really? Henry just told me you guys weren't too happy, and I'm bound to agree with that statement, though I don't know why." Emma figured she would at least feign innocence.

Red sighed. "Give it up Emma, I told them, just like I promised. Regina kidnapped you and took your heart, and now she's here as a squirrel? I feel like I'm more than justified in believing this has gone too far."

Right then, Emma was sorely regretting having trusted her aunt. Rather than admit to anything, she spat out, "And so what? I trust Regina, is that a crime?"

"It is when you consider our history!" Snow called out, looking only at the squirrel still perched on Emma's shoulder.

"It was eight years ago! Why should I even care?" Emma asked.

"Because she holds grudges for a really long time," David answered. "And if she wasn't such a coward, she would take these allegations head on."

Regina dropped from her spot on Emma's shoulder and transformed into her human form. "I believe I hardly qualify for the term coward, but if that's what makes you sleep at night..."

Emma hissed, "Not helping our case Regina."

Snow agreed. "Really Regina, this was your plan? Enthrall my daughter and just take her away from me?"

"No," Emma ground out. "You very well know - after two days of being subject to having my heart ripped out - that I am of sound mind and body. So stop trying to make this about some damn revenge tactic involving magic and deceit. I love Regina, and I willingly sought out a relationship with her, one that makes me very happy. There is no trickery or forcing on my part nor hers."

Turning to look at Regina, Snow was clearly disgusted as she asked, "You had a relationship with _my_ daughter and knew about it this whole time? How perverted are you?"

"Why you little-" Regina let out a growl and was ready to call up her magic when Emma stepped in between Regina's path to Snow, and held her hands out.

"Stop! Regina, please let me handle this. Mom, Regina didn't know who I was at first. She found out yesterday and that's why she was so livid. She took me to the castle because she wanted to know if it was true. But we're working on resolving it."

She was sure Snow's eye twitched as her mother asked, "Resolving? You mean you're not going to cut all ties with her?"

"No, of course not," Emma sounded resolute in her answer, and it made Regina's heart swell despite the situation.

David was silent in his shock, and Red was wisely staying in the sidelines, but Snow clearly would carry the conversation. "I see. Essentially, you are picking Regina over us?"

Emma spared Regina one glance before turning back to her parents and saying, "Yes. I choose Regina."

"Very well," Snow's voice broke the slightest bit, but she took a deep breath before saying, "Emma, you are to leave here immediately, and never return. If you do, you will be treated as an enemy, and dealt with on sight. With that, I hereby ban you from Storybrooke Village."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh busted! Poor Emma. That'll be something to deal with. Gotta wonder what'll happen next!
> 
> Meanwhile, I have more fics to update! I've got Equals coming up next, a few drabbles I've kept in the back-burner for now, and then Her Stable Girl!
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts, so let me know your reactions to this chapter.


	12. The Dark Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Yet another fic update coming in!
> 
> Not super long, but it'll get us going for the final stretch of the story.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Emma was trying to fit in with the whole palace life, she truly was. But the banishment was bothering her more than she'd let on, and Regina could tell.

At least she had Henry and Regina to abate some of that melancholiness. Though for all their attempts, Emma's smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

After Snow's banishment, Emma had proceeded to pack her things up, and much to her surprise, Henry had been right there. He had been listening in, and when Emma had tried to talk to him, try and get him to stay, he refused. After some coaxing on his part, Emma agreed, and that's where they were now. In Regina's palace.

At first, Emma wouldn't hear of Regina's offer to stay in the palace. "You wanted some space, remember?"

Regina had let out a sad smile. "Like you said, we're not that great at this staying away thing. Besides, the only reputable inn in this kingdom is with Red, and I don't imagine you want to spend time with her quite yet, right?"

That closed that argument, and Emma acquiesced to staying in the palace - but in her own room - and tried to move on.

But the problem was that Emma was a thief at heart, and living carefree was not exactly what she had been planning.

Regina had tried multiple times to talk to her, but Emma rebuffed every attempt, citing one reason or another.

But after 6 weeks, Regina had had enough.

"You do know I'm not upset with you anymore, right?" Regina asked. She went to sit down beneath the tree in her garden, where Emma was also perched, looking up at the night sky, arms wrapped around her knees.

Emma cracked a smile. "Yesterday's kissing certainly gave that idea."

Regina also smiled at the memory. They had lasted about a week before Emma and Regina were practically inseprable, kissing at every moment they could. "Then, why won't you talk to me about what's bothering you? I know you miss your home, even Henry sees it. Just tell me what I can do to help."

With a sigh, Emma turned to look at her. "There's nothing you can do. Actually, you shouldn't have to do a thing anyway, it's not your fault. It's my parents'."

"Then?" Regina asked. "What's holding you back?"

"That I can't help people anymore. Believe me, my parents said plenty of stupidities in the past, and the only reason I stayed was because I wanted to keep helping people. Living here...it's just showing me how much people still need help. No matter how much you try and help, people aren't used to accepting things from monarchs."

Regina hummed. "And why can't you continue by yourself? You might not have a multitude of helpers, but you always seemed quite skilled that I figured you could handle on your own. And I imagine it wouldn't take you long to get your own merry band together."

Emma blushed slightly at Regina's compliment. "It's not that. It's just that there are treaties set up, detailing how thieving is divided. I think I told you about it?"

"You did," Regina agreed. "But it always struck me as particularly puzzling that thieves would have rules and territories."

"Seems somewhat counter-productive right? But it was set up almost a decade ago when my parents first set up the village; with their sunny disposition, it didn't take long for nearly every faction of thieves in the Enchanted Forest to agree to it. Basically everyone has a piece of land that they can take from, and any infraction is dealt with strictly and swiftly."

"What about kingdoms? How are those divided?" Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. "I think those are rotatory or something. People pick and choose who they want to rob from."

Regina nodded. "And joining as yourself would just mean that you would be once again under your parents' thumb I'm assuming?"

"You got it."

"Then why not go rogue? You have Ban, you still have your skills, and pissing your parents off would be a bonus, but you can still help people, on your own terms."

The idea sounded very appealing to Emma but…"My costume is quite well-known around the Enchanted Forest. People would know who I am, and they would want answers from me."

Regina scoffed. "I dare any fool to try and storm the Evil Queen's palace and try that."

Emma let out a laugh at that.

"But nonetheless, let's see if we can't spruce it up a bit." Regina said, standing up and heading back towards her room. "Go get changed and meet me in my chambers."

Emma did just that, thankful that her room also had an entrance from the garden. Traipsing around in her thief clothes would surely not bode well for her. That Sidney Glass already had a strong dislike for her. She didn't need to give him more reasons.

When she went to Regina's room, the latter was lounging on her chaise, a goblet of wine in her hand, and a pensive look on her face.

Before Emma could ask if something was wrong, Regina said, "I was thinking we could add some wooden armour to your new suit. Help you blend in, and provide some protection."

Emma frowned. The idea did sound good, but…"Wouldn't the wood weight me down?"

Regina shook her head. "Not if it's a magical tree."

Emma gaped. "So it's true? Your knights are all decked out with the Elsemeare bark?"

Regina scoffed. "Hardly. Only a few handful of my most trusty knights are. But you've heard of it?"

"Yep. It's all part of the myth that surrounds the Dark Kingdom," Emma said. "That, and that your knights can breathe fire."

"Honestly," Regina said said with a sigh. "Unless they are magical partitioners, they do not breathe fire. Now, let's get your new costume started, shall we? I'll use this as a base?"

Emma nodded, holding her arms out as if she was at the tailor.

Regina began to circle her, the goblet in her hand. "First, let's darken the colour a bit. Still green, but even more of a forest green."

Before her eyes, Emma saw the transformation. The leather was slowly tinting to a darker green, and with each comment made, purple mist would surround that area and change the material to her specifications. Richer leather for her gloves, sturdier soles for her boots, more pouches for her tools. Then came the armour. It truly was light, the wood not weighing her down at all, but when she tapped it, she could feel its sturdiness. It covered her shins, her forearms, and her shoulders and biceps. Lastly, her hood.

"While it is quite shaded, it doesn't provide much in terms of hiding your identity. Haven't you ever considered a mask or some fabric to hide your face?" Regina asked, going to stand in front of her lover.

Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You can imagine my mother was never keen on hiding a face completely. In her eyes, that just made a person look like an evil bandit."

Regina understood Emma's eye roll and flicked her wrist. The hood was now completely black, and there was a fabric covering the lower half of her face. "How does it feel?"

Emma inspected her new costume. "Much better. Just a pity I can't kiss you right now."

"Oh?" Regina pulled down the black fabric and leant forward to kiss her lover slowly. Emma wasted no time in pulling the queen closer to her and deepening the kiss.

Once they finally parted, Emma pulled the fabric back up over her mouth. "I don't suppose you also have a secret passageway to the stables from here, do you?"

Regina let out a rich laugh. "Rest assured, I do. That eager to test out your new suit?"

Emma nodded. "Yep, plus I have heard that the sultan of Agrabah is looking to have his coffers lightened."

"Sultan Jafar would be a nice target," Regina mused. "Very well. Go forth, my brave Dark Thief."

Emma grinned behind her mask. "Is that my official title now?"

"It could be. Do you like it?" Regina asked.

"Yep, has a better ring than Shadow Thief. Plus it compliments your being the queen of the Dark Kingdom."

Regina agreed. "Then it shall be. Now go, and make good time, I want you back soon."

"Going to miss me, my Queen?" Emma asked.

"Immensely," Regina admitted. "Now head to the garden towards the trellis, and push forward. Go down the tunnel, and you'll come out in the secret stables. My own personal steed is also there."

"If you ever want to join me…"Emma started, the idea forming in her head.

Regina chuckled. "Hardly. I am more for big entrances than stealth. My methods would include fire burning and destruction."

"Fair enough," Emma quickly nipped that idea in the bud. Definitely not now. Maybe in the future.

And so, with a few more kisses, and a stealthy goodbye to Henry, Emma took off to Agrabah with Ban, eager to get back in the game. She went through the portal which would cut her travel down to a mere day, and headed towards the towering Agrabah palace.

A fresh beginning. It was just what she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that!
> 
> Next up we get to see more of Emma's adventures in Agrabah. Next up will be an update on Equals, which is already written, I just have to edit it. Then I have a SQ Halloween fic in the works, so woo!
> 
> Love to hear your thoughts!


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